Machines for 2012...some questions

After the previous post, I had a number of you asking about that Machine off to the right side, in the last photo.

A number of questions regarding to this particular Machine

So for those of you that have already asked, here's a closer view of that particular Machine.

The "Tester"

The story behind this particular Machine is that it's been built as a "Tester".
Jimmy Whitlock of Luckys Tattoo Supply, very kindly sent me a set of his Lucky Coils to test run & compare against the Coils that I'm presently using.

Always compare Apples with Apples:
So to conduct a fair test, I've deliberately built this Machine as a Thin Armature Liner to directly compare it against a number of Thin Armature Liners that are within the current Machine Orders.

This Tester Machine has just started being fine tuned & run-in, but even at this early stage, these Lucky Coils are very impressive.

And for those wanting to send me an email...this Tester Machine is NOT FOR SALE

Machines for 2012...solder & shim

With all of the Machines now assembled with their required Yokes, it was now time to solder.

Everything laid out & ready to do some soldering.

Soldering & my preferences:
The Coils outer wires need to be soldered to the connectors known as Solder Lugs & the Coils inner wires soldered together.
Because all of the Coil wires have a Positive (+) current running through them, they'll need to be insulated from possible contact with the Frame which is Negative (-).
There's various products used for doing this insulation & everyone has their own preferences, I personally like a harder tubing which is commonly known as Insulation Spaghetti.

Once the Coil wires have all been soldered into place, then the Capacitor is fitted.
The Capacitor will also have a Positive (+) current running through it, so again the Spaghetti is used to insulate it's wires from the Negative (-) Frame.


Shim those Coils:
Next on the agenda was to make a start to Shim each of the Coils.
Basically you want the Armature Bar to hit the Core of Top Coil square on...
You typically do this by using a variety of thin washers known as Shims to raise the Coils up by a very small amount.
My preference is for steel Shims in a variety of sizes ranging from 0.005" up to 0.030" (0.13mm to 0.76mm)
And because each of the Frames are handmade & slightly different to the next, this means that each Coil Set will require their own individual set of Shims to get everything square.
This is just another of those time consuming jobs when building Machines, but it's one that's very important to do.

So here's the "First Batch" after another days effort completed...
...and another step closer to the Finish Line!

Another step closer to completion

Machines for 2012...special bits & pieces

I mentioned in my last post that there was some "speciality items" to be made...
That particular Machine Order requested that the two Machines each have a Thin Armature & include a connection for a 3.5mm Mono Audio Socket.

This request didn't present any problems as I'd run the very same connection on my Old Machines back in the 90's.
Designed & made a simple Bracket (includes a welded screw) with which to hold the 3.5mm Socket.
In this case the connection is located on the left side of the Frame because the customer is Left Handed.

Brackets made to hold 3.5mm Mono Audio Sockets (3.5mm Plug in foreground)

Closer view of  the Bracket, Socket & Plug 

Next it was time to start assembling all of the components into their Frames.
Because each of the Frames is totally handmade, there's a number of slight differences between each of them & their components.
So I first need to assemble each one to work out if a Yoke is needed & then make one to suit each individual Machine...a time consuming process, but necessary.

By the end of the day I'd simply run out of time to complete some Yokes & the assembly for one Machine, so those will be next Monday's job.

Machines for 2012...spring into action

For quite some time, Monday has been my only day off & it's become my "Machine building day".

Managed to get all those Frames for the first batch painted in the super tough Clear, a big Thanks to Anthony.
Also managed to get all of the sets of Springs marked out, punched & cut, ready for the assembly stage.

Here's all the Springs cut & with the hand tools used to make them... tedious work

A closer view of all those Back Springs...

...and the Top Springs...those round discs are from punching out all the holes.

There's a couple of "speciality items" that I still need to make for two of these Machine Orders...
...so they'll be part of next Monday's jobs.