How To Make A Tattoo Machine

If you are great at freehand drawing and want a tattoo, why not learn how to make a tattoo machine? Tattoos have been around for approximately 5,000 years and are as unique as the person wearing them. A majority of tattoos have an underlying symbolic meanings. The art of tattooing became popular in the United States during wars when sailors would go away to other countries and come back home with tattoos.

You will need:

• A ball point pen (Bic style)
• Electrical tape   
• Guitar string or a stiff wire
• Battery-operated motor
• Toothbrush
• Pencil eraser

1. Remove the tube of ink from the pen and trim to about four inches. Remove the ball from the ink well. You can accomplish this by filing the end of the pen until the ball pops out. Trim the guitar wire to five or six inches and push it through the ink tube.
2. Bend the toothbrush until it is shaped like a seven. Tape the ink tube with the guitar string in it to the toothbrush using electric tape. A good strategy to bend the toothbrush is to heat it with a lighter until it is flexible and hold in place until it cools. The toothbrush will keep its bent shape.
3. At this point a motor is needed to run the tattoo machine. The best motors to accomplish this task come from a Walkman or handheld fan. If you need to, break the device to get ahold of the motor.
4. Take the pencil eraser and push it onto the shaft of the motor. The shaft will be the metal bar that is sticking out of the motor. Make sure to place the eraser dead center onto the shaft. Now tape the motor to the bent part of the toothbrush. From here all you have to do is stick the other end of the guitar string into the eraser, but make it off center.
5. Powering the tattoo machine is the difficult part. If you are good with electronics, you can rig the wires coming out of the motor to 9V batteries to get the tattoo machine to run. Be careful that you do not shock yourself when doing this. Normally, the red wire coming out of the motor will connect to the positive terminal of the battery, while the black wire will connect to the negative terminal.
6. Until you are used to drawing with the vibrating tattoo machine, it is recommended that you practice on fruit with tough skin. Two of the best fruits to use for practice are oranges and bananas.
7. Make sure to sterilize the needle and wash your hands before attempting to tattoo anyone. Never use the same needle twice or use the same needle on two different people.