tattoo with Dragonfly rotary

I got my DF on Tuesday and decided to see what all the hype was about. Was it really less painful (than a coil machine)? Can it line? Was it really as comfortable as all the marketing hype suggested?

Well, who better to test this contraption out on than myself? After all, how would I really know if it was less painful?

I started my hand a few years back, putting the god of the sea, Kanaloa, on the space between my thumb and index finger. Using coil machines (Pulse Watson and Pulse Corsair, respectively) I found the entire ordeal to be fairly painful. Granted it is the hand, what with all the nerve ganglia, etc. I believe that I used a T3RL and a 5M on that one.

So, I approached this experience with some trepidation, and rightly so. Luckily (or unluckily) my shop has slowed down between waves of visitors (island economies are driven by such things) so I set my stuff up and proceeded to draw up something that would go nicely with my sea god. I ended up drawing a maka nui, or all seeing eye. It is meant to steal your opponents spirit in battle, not that I have many enemies or battles to fight.

Anyway, one gloved hand later and I was in it.

The first thing that struck me was how smooth this machine runs. Not that I was used to a chortling coil machine, but damn, this thing was like drawing with a fine tipped sharpie. The next thing that I noticed was that it didn't hurt whatsoever. I found myself pushing harder just so that I could feel the needle! The ink was going in great but for some reason, because it didn't hurt, my brain was needing that pain in order to register that it was actually going in! Holy crap!
I've used rotaries before and have been tattooed by them and this is by far a league above anything else that I have ever used.
The shading was like butter and I really enjoyed the responsiveness of the machine given incremental voltage increases allied with the 'hit' adjustment.
I have been using an Aaron Cain Avionic with my Pulse Corsair (the latter set up with a big gap/long stroke)and this DF wipes the floor with them.
I found the stroke to be very workable, something that I was initially concerned with as it is fairly long compared with my coil machines. I found that it lent itself to working off the tips quite well.
That being said, when I first fired it up I had the voltage high, around 10.5 because it felt more like a coil machine, but soon I lowered it to 8.5 and found it much more responsive to what I was doing.
I really liked the weight and the way the machine complimented my hand movements as opposed to the sensation of 'fighting' (lack of a better word) like my coils always seemed to make me do.
Now it's important to keep in mind, regarding the pain issue, that I used a single needle, not a mag. I imagine that a mag might hurt more, but that's just the nature of more needles.
Regarding the needle bar, I found that I had to bend it a bit more (than I usually do), further down the shaft, right above the solder knurl. Doing this sets the needles straight in the tip. Not a biggie, just different.
I had very light tension on the needle itself; I turned the tension mechanism maybe 3/4 to 1 turn once it made contact with the needled bar. Just so the bar sat in the center of the tube.
I did not experience any spitting, btw.
Afterward, my hand wasn't red, swollen or aching. Now as I write this my hand feels no trauma and is not red at all. I normally heal quickly and I can tell that this will heal in no time.
To recap: Yes, the hype is true. Less pain. It can line, and by damn, if this thing isn't a perfect machine for me. But only time will tell if I end up loving this thing, once the frost is off the pumpkin. I think that I will.

Settings/Equipment:
1 RL
8.5-9.1 Voltage
One, ink
total time: 1.5 hours (yeah, I took it easy!)