Ink climbing up the needle bar...

I've discussed this in another thread before but it kinda died off, also I'm curious if people have had this problem with different machines...
I actually had to send my two Metaxas back to mike in order for him to take a look at them, no matter what I try, o rings, bands, different needle bend, different needle brands, different grommets, paper, tubes, after extended use I find ink climbs it's way up the needle way and coats the fly wheel, thus spitting all over my arm.
I've spent hundreds trying to remedy this problem to no avail...any thoughts?

ive had that happen with the dragonfly. i think its only with thicker pigments and the only solution i came up with is to not use it

i've never had it happen with any of my machines. i like wet pigments though. maybe that's it

I've only had that happen with machines with strong return springs, but it's been a long time since. Needle runners coated heavily with petrolatum works well at stopping it...


Sent from a galaxy far, far away...

Its the way the needle bar rides in the tube. Ink travels up the tube when the gap between the tube and the needle bar is close enough to allow capillary action to occur. Your needle bar has to run in the center of the tube the entire length otherwise it will draw ink upwards.

yep rotarys usally work best with no bend in the bar but at the needle solder joint.

I hear many people telling me to put a mellow bend from solder joint all the way to the eye loop, I figured it must be the bar rubbing on the tube wall, but it doesn't appear to when I rotate the fly wheel. Metaxas are the best rotarys I've ever used, and I've tried a few, and I don't want to shelf em!

Tried needle runners?

Once or twice...definitely not sold on them.

I had the same issue with my new Rapier II today... The first half an hour everything was fine no ink spray no ink creeping up the tube. After a short break everything was different the ink sprayed a lot and I couldnt continue without fixing the problem I was doing linework still. I tried to bend the needle more and more the needle bar itself and on the needle head no matter what I did nothing helped... But then I tightend the rubber band so much that I had to raise the volts from 8.2 to 8.9 and everything was fine after that. Im using very strong rubber bands

Hmm, I have found sometimes more bands help, I use barber dts black ones and they're tense as hell. Mike says just use the single o ring he provides, most people swear by it, seems to be just me having problems!

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Originally Posted by wildboy

I had the same issue with my new Rapier II today... The first half an hour everything was fine no ink spray no ink creeping up the tube. After a short break everything was different the ink sprayed a lot and I couldnt continue without fixing the problem I was doing linework still. I tried to bend the needle more and more the needle bar itself and on the needle head no matter what I did nothing helped... But then I tightend the rubber band so much that I had to raise the volts from 8.2 to 8.9 and everything was fine after that. Im using very strong rubber bands

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Maybe the bands had gotten stretched after a bit which allowed less tension.Also I have noticed on rotary machines to keep the needles and tips clean n wet and free from paper towel lent and built up ink between the needles,this will help alot with this issue to.

Also check to make sure the bearings and pin are ok and setted correctly

Set it up normally and slap a big dollop of vaseline and / or a needle runner somewhere near the middle of the needle bar and you should be golden, my Dragonfly used to do the same thing but only with certain inks and it'd fly everywhere once it hit the cam...

use to happen to me all the time with my dragonfly. i use eternal ink. eternal makes a product called "keep it wet". pour your ink and put 2 drops of this on top. it'll keep it from drying out, but thins it just a little. once i started this, the ink creep stopped.

I have that problem CONSTANTLY w/ only one machine, my Bizarre V2. My co-worker has one and has never had a problem w/ it. ??? I've tried everything too.

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Originally Posted by PAWNJOB

I have that problem CONSTANTLY w/ only one machine, my Bizarre V2. My co-worker has one and has never had a problem w/ it. ??? I've tried everything too.

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Try his needles(have him do his needle/bar bend), tubes & ink brands on yours to see if its the brands you use doing it.Also I would check to see how his motor/piston etc are lined up as compared to yours-maybe something is out of alignment.

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Originally Posted by slicksteel

Try his needles(have him do his needle/bar bend), tubes & ink brands on yours to see if its the brands you use doing it.Also I would check to see how his motor/piston etc are lined up as compared to yours-maybe something is out of alignment.

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Good advice,,,,

It's only happened to me once and that was with my bizarre v2, I emailed stigma about it and 10 minutes later a very nice chap from Germany phoned the shop to talk me through stripping the machine and cleaning it properly, he then told me he thought the problem was too much bend on the needle bar making it ride the top of the tube, I've sinced changed wher I bend the bar to just at the solder a slight bend down and then again one finger space back an it's never happened since

May sound crazy but I put a&d on the needle bar after it happened once

sometimes it does happen either because the needle is too close to the tube or something blocks ink from the tip.petroleum jel,tiny piece of paper, tissue,or even small hair that blogged in tip ,allow the needle to move as if nothing is wrong but dont leave ink to flow in the front narrow part of the tip causing it to stock in the chamber and eventually ride up the tube.this happens after some time of working.if it starts as soon as you start to work its probably because the machine works very fast or in case of coils ,too much spring tension.this makes the needle travel so "violently" that creates a sucking effect which makes ink travel up the tube(try to imagine the move when you draw liquid with an injection.) .its easier to happen with large group needles.

Try a bigger tube. One size up from your needle grouping. I always had ink flow problems, never really went up the tube, but because I have a lot of needle hang, I never got the required ink flow to the skin. Going up a size fixed it.