Fellow Forum Members Please Help me find some budget tattoo machines--See Text Inside
Before you judge me too harshly based on the subject line, please understand that those are my FK Irons for sale on the Classified Board. I have always supported the industry, respected my clientele and have used the best gear I could get my hands on.
Unfortunately, I have fallen on some very hard times . My wife was recently diagnosed with Huntington's disease which is a rare, degenerative, neurological illness that causes advanced dementia, speech and mobility problems and eventual death. Furthermore, because it is genetic, our 3 children have a 50/50 chance of having. We were a 2 income family with 3 children that is now down to one income, no insurance and are struggling immensely since I must care for my wife and cannot work as much as I normally do. I respectfully ask everyone: Please be mature, empathetic and respectful if you choose to participate in this post. I would appreciate it immensely.
In spite of what is happening I still need to tattoo but was forced to sell my FK irons to buy food for my kids and pay medicals bills and life's expenses, which are piling up at an astronomical rate. I simply did not own anything else other than a vehicle that I could sell to raise money.
Although I am all too familiar with top name machines and machine builders, I find myself in unfamiliar territory and could use the help and advice of fellow forum members. While I would like to avoid at all costs the low quality equipment that is out there, I need to equip. myself on a budget to continue to earn money. If it's salvageable, I can usually salvage it.
I normally set up with 4 machines.
While I would like 4 machines, I can make due with 3. Other than I want a coil machine as a liner.....I am open to coil or rotary suggestions since I have and can use both. Here is the punch line with which I need your advice and help. I have an absolute maximum budget of $350 to use on machines. This is what is left over after the sale of my FKIs. I did not/could not sell my other equipment so I only need machines.
FYI: I do have a source of excellent custom coils and can have any machines re-coiled relatively inexpensively to make them run better.
I thank everyone in advance for any and all suggestions on what I might be able to afford that still works without too much of a hassle. A few suggestions I have gotten are Unimax brand machines (Jaws, Star etc....), Re-coiled Aluminator series machines or Stealths, ITS (International Tattoo Supply) iron machines, used recoiled Spaulding machines, Used Micky Sharpz, The Noxid rotary with cheaper motor, Someone called Arty Joe's Inc on Ebay?
I see alot of builders here in the USA on Ebay offering machines within my budget but I don't know......I am not in the position to take a chance or gamble on an unknown builder.
