How I bag my setup etc:
(I am aware there is no need to bag the halo as you can spray directly with germicide etc but i believe in cleaning what is already clean, to the eye atleast, there is also the debate of bio spray coming up the tube, so better safe then sorry)
I am posting this beacuse i love the way it all comes together so perfectly with this set up and figured I would share...
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e1...ps3ae675c7.jpg
1. Place the T Tech grip inside a plastic sandwich bag
2. Take a T Tech Cartridge and insert it into the grip pushing the plastic up inside while you do so
3. Use plastic medical tape to wrap the grip securing the barrier in place, i prefer the plastic medical tape as it has a rough grip like texture.
4. Use the short plunger bar from T Tech drop it into the tube , use a rubber bullet for the nipple from tatsoul or similar slide the tube etc through the vice line it up secure the vice screw about 70% tightness
5. Take a machine bag cover , clip the corner off in the side that does not open up, slide the tube through the bag and out the cut open corner
6. Pull the bag all the way up but not overtop of the vice screw, secure it here with scotch tape
7. Once secure pull the bag backwards leaving the give adjustment knob in the top corner or the bag, grab another piece of scotch tape and twist the bag around the motor bolt and secure so its tight but still loose enough to remove the motorbolt if needed as nothing is directly taped to the motor bolt itself, also you could pull the clip cord cover over the entire motor bolt and secure it this way.
8. Bag up your rca cable obviously
9. give the bag a couple tugs up where the give adjustment knob is so it doesnt hit the bag while in use. (seems to fit so perfectly in that top corner and it is adjustable through the bag just takes a little longer / smaller turns)
like i said in the post above with the grip 70 percent tight you can adjust needle depth / tube placement easily without messing with the grip and the machine DOES NOT move around on its own since its so light, you also have the benefit of having a stainless tube witch kills all vibrations even on 11 volts, the needle will ride perfectly with no bending or adjusting / does not lift up and always rides true.
for cleaning and breakdown always use new gloves then the ones you were tattooing with. the grip and plunger then get put back into a plactic bag and sprayed with a good amount of germicide 3 and swooshed around in the solution inside the bag for 3 minutes. then whiped down with a germicide wipe, swabbing out the inside too. even though it all looks spotless to the eye when un bagged. then let air dry, ultra sonic , then into the clave.
bagging the machine like this seals your entire unit from the cartridge up, there will be a tiny hole poked by the plunger peg of the cartridge but this is why you take all the steps afterwards and it is much easier then cleaning a regular stainless tube, the ultrasonic and clave are even debatable at this point but i do it for peace of mind. clean whats already clean and you cant go wrong.
this is a bold statement but the bag covers from unimax are complete and utter garbage. they claim on there site that they take away the need to ever clave your hawk grips etc, they have a giant hole in the bottom of them, they dont go inside the grip what so ever, just leave a big hole for the cartridge to slide into , some people will say well i dont touch the part that goes into the grip etc, its just an excuse there is contamination if your setting it down on your soiled dental bib touching it anywhere ont he cartridge with soiled gloves etc, they are false advertising and puting people at a health risk as im sure some people dont clave there grips and use those covers because thats what they say you can do.... use some common sense decide for yourself, also sandwich bags are cheap as chips and available everywhere...
also one elastic band is all you will ever need with t tech even running on high volts.
i honestly think this is the perfect set up and i dont need any other machines at all for anything i could ever dream of, the benefit of using the spektra over a hawk is you can use disposables if you want , give adjustment , tube direction, faster downstroke, adjustable on the fly motorbolt, no start up issues , special cords or power supplies. also being able to clave the machine head anytime you want...the added benefit of t tech is being able to clean the stainless steel grip anyway you want and not worry about messing up a 175 dollar ceramic grip
if anyone is wondering i use the 4mm stroke for everything,eikon ems400 and just adjust my depth / needle hang to achieve smooth black and grey , color etc. having this set up has let me focus more on the art and forget about everything else, i love it...
dont forget to remove your stay up spring, although i have run it with it in and it still works fine no bump start or anything needed. i also found the give adjustment works amazing with t tech it makes it more responsive in my eyes, 1 turn out is like 2.5 with disposable, to me atleast. i like to keep it at 1 turn out for everything i do ,one less thing to think about but its there if i want to use it. i put a dot on the give knob with a paint marker so you can visually see where it is at all times no worrying about it moving around while you bag or un bag etc.
4mm stroke
8.5-9.5v for color and shading
10v for lining max 10.5!
i find sometimes at the start of a piece i will feel like i need the 10.5 volts but as a get more comfortable through it i can line as low as 9.5 and still work quick, its just about getting the right hand technique...
