Swashdrive Compact?

[Bishopbyname]

Hiya guys, i've got a Swashdrive Compact on it's way in a trade and was wondering what your experiences are with it? I'm puzzled as to why Swashdrive have discontinued it because i've heard some great things. Maybe it's a little too similar to the Brush? Anyway any feedback would be good. Has it got plenty of power, advice on voltage/give...

Cheers folks! :D

[thesmokingmirror]

I have a compact and it is a really powerful and versatile machine. Its probably the best all in one you can get. I personally don't mess with the settings to much I usually run it anywhere from 3.3 to 3.8 stroke and 8 - 10 volts and give clip from 0-2. Haven't used it in a long time however as the hawk pen feels a little more natural when tattooing and is quieter to. It is not adjustable at all save for the needle depth but that restriction makes it easier to tattoo as I an pretty used to the performance range and don't have any guess work or tinkering to do as I tattoo. Where the Compact excels at is in its range, for example it feels more powerful than my pen so when I need a powerliner for anything past 9r this can handle that better and faster than my main driver also I have the Vice version so I can use a standard setup with this machine and it performs flawlessly in this setup as well. I usually use it with a standard setup with blackclaw needles for fat line work and it is a small machine so it s not uncomfortable or anything. I'm gonna put it back in my main rotation now that I'm remembering the good times we've had together lol

[Patrick]

I think my compact is one of the best machines I own. Like thesmokingmirror said, it's just about the most versatile machines out there. Id say the only drawback is the weight balance. It's a bit top heavy. And the length, with tube attached, doesn't really let you rest the machine on your hand. But other than that, it's a pretty amazing machine.

[eduki]

I love it, I have the screw version but I think the vice version is more versatile. Agree with the opinion of the top weight but I'm so used to it and I don't care too much.. The best is the different settings that you can handle.
Lastly mine has a problem, the machine seems to drop/increase the power by itself once I'm working with it for like 1 hour or so...
Tried it with different power supplies (cheyenne/critical) but it happens no matter the power supply...
Anyways I like it and hope to fix the problem soon.

[Jesse Phillips]

I love it, I have the screw version but I think the vice version is more versatile. Agree with the opinion of the top weight but I'm so used to it and I don't care too much.. The best is the different settings that you can handle.
Lastly mine has a problem, the machine seems to drop/increase the power by itself once I'm working with it for like 1 hour or so...
Tried it with different power supplies (cheyenne/critical) but it happens no matter the power supply...
Anyways I like it and hope to fix the problem soon.
my gen 8 did that. I sent it back. The one they replaced it with did it too. Sent it back and got a whip.
My guess is a bad batch of motors.

[Bishopbyname]

Cheers guys. Maybe the weight issue was a reason they stopped making the machine? I'll put my opinions down here once i've used it a bit.

[eduki]

my gen 8 did that. I sent it back. The one they replaced it with did it too. Sent it back and got a whip.
My guess is a bad batch of motors.
Thanks Jesse, I'll try to contact Tony but I bought it here at the forum and I'm not sure if I'll be as lucky...

[machineboy80]

Thanks Jesse, I'll try to contact Tony but I bought it here at the forum and I'm not sure if I'll be as lucky...
My gen 4 did the same an my gen8 ridgit an I found that is that some power supply dont give a lot of wats yes they might have a lot of voltage but the motor they used on their machine are more torque so is more wats than voltage I spoke with tony an is best to get their power supply the spinner an the good part is that it calibrate the machine on volts an wats an amps most don't have that set up check their videos on the spinner so ya can get an idea an thanks

[Jesse Phillips]

Thanks Jesse, I'll try to contact Tony but I bought it here at the forum and I'm not sure if I'll be as lucky...
Yeah, I bought mine directly from them. They will tell you that you need a different power supply.

[Bishopbyname]

Some cool info on here. It's a very strong smooth machine, vibrates more than i'm used to.

[Jesse Phillips]

The best way to contact them is via tony olivers face book

[thesmokingmirror]

With steel tubes its a lot less vibration. Either way its not that bad, only reason its not my main driver is because the hawk pen is more ergonomic and easier to use

[eduki]

Buff another power supply to solve the issues? My power supplies collection it's gonna be even bigger than my machines collection XD

[Jesse Phillips]

I tried mine on 4 different power supplies. It's not the power supply.

[thesmokingmirror]

hey just want to add to this since putting mine back heavily into rotation. My machine was having connectivity issues from time to time all my rca cords are pristine so i thought it was something similar to what some of you have said about power drops and whatnot. After some troubleshooting I noticed this connection drop or power fluctuation did not occur by adding the RCA to Clipcord adapter and then using the Clipcord instead. Im guessing theres a large batch of machines that got their polarities all messed up which is a small issue but rather annoying indeed. Anyhow this machine is still pretty awesome, it doesnt feel as nice or natural as the pen machines,, I tattoo a lot less fluidly but i love messing with the settings and getting drastically different results

[eduki]

hey just want to add to this since putting mine back heavily into rotation. My machine was having connectivity issues from time to time all my rca cords are pristine so i thought it was something similar to what some of you have said about power drops and whatnot. After some troubleshooting I noticed this connection drop or power fluctuation did not occur by adding the RCA to Clipcord adapter and then using the Clipcord instead. Im guessing theres a large batch of machines that got their polarities all messed up which is a small issue but rather annoying indeed. Anyhow this machine is still pretty awesome, it doesnt feel as nice or natural as the pen machines,, I tattoo a lot less fluidly but i love messing with the settings and getting drastically different results
I'll try what you suggest, hope it works! I love it and yes, I also like to play with the settings, so quick and easy!