workhorse irons rotary collab with special technique.

[Tat2dPinoy]

think I wanna take that from ya then. You down with shipping to canada? Pay pal cool?

Cool man! I'll PM you

[eyeballkid]

so, Ill be the first one it seems to give you an actual first person user review.
I got one about a month and a half ago. Ive been a die hard coil machine guy since I started, to the point that I was kinda the shop mechanic for machines. Anyway, over the last few years Ive started to get aggravated by the tempermentalness of some of my trusty coil machines. One artist in our shop has always used a rotary, and one recently switched to em. He started telling me he'd never go back cos the line work is always consistent, and the color packs quicker.. not too mention the quietness.

so.. I looked around for a while, and really was interested in the "give" idea of the Workhorse model. I noticed that the direct systems that the other artists had caused them to have to be VERY careful with thinner skin types.

So I got the workhorse. Yes its a little louder than the other rotaries, but its way quieter than my coil machines. The noise is caused by the connecter ring at the rear of the armature bar that needs to be a little loose to create the "give". I was leary of the real long stroke on these (3.5mm) cos Ive always been a dime-liner guy. So, first tattoo I do, I set it up with a littl more needle hang than I usually would knowing itll give some and have a go. First tattoo and Ive got more consistent lines for depth and evenness than Ive been getting for a while. Its been this way ever since. In all honesty I have used it for EVERY tattoo but 2 in the last 6 weeks and just ordered another one. I was surprised how quickly I adjusted to it and liked it. For color it packs better than any coil Ive used at lower speeds, so its getting the ink in quicker with less skin trauma. The only thing Im still getting the hang of it with is black and grey, since my style was to run my machine REAL soft for building greys and with this it hits the same depth all the time basically.

I am concerned about the life span of the motor, cos at this point we are all test pilots and only time will tell. But my first foray into the Rotary World was with this machine and I feel like I went to a tent revival and saw the light!

Nitty gritty: Lines VERY WELL and consistent
Shades damn good, but Im adjusting to rolling back the voltage as needed.
Packs Color like a steam roller.
Heals better than coils.
Runs on super low volts.. I have a 10 turn power unit that I turn ALL THE WAY down and then go up one half turn.
The bad: Motor Lifespan questions... but no problems so far and I use it ALL DAY as a Liner/Shader/Color machine
The other thing is this... the pivot at the top of the machine for the A-bar, while machined very tightly, does allow for a little teeny needle sway when you hit the skin. This CAN actually cause some line wiggle. However it is EASILY corrected. I took a rubber band from the side screw hitch for the bands to go around the needle bar and looped it a couple times up around the screw on the pivot. This removed all the sway and Ive been using it for technical peices with no wiggly gigglies.

does that help?

[pattex]

nice review, thanx eyeballkid. I thought about buying one, too. do you have any comparison to other rotary machines? and something else that might help your machine to live longer: normal or cheaper power units dont deliver precise power and thats not good for the elextric motors of rotarys in general. try getting a critical II or an eikon 400 which deliver power on a stable and fluent stream. also using RCA cable helps as clipcords also dont deliver stable power to your machine.

[eyeballkid]

no, these are my first rotaries... Im not REALLY worried about the motor lifespan, it just that coming from coils I dont have any clue how long it will last. A fella at our shop bought those swiss Swashes and they both died a week after the year warranty..(could be a fluke, as he doesnt treat his machines the best... but..)

as for the power unit thing, I believe Eikon is not recommended for the workhorse rotaries, or at least a certain model isnt. But, they run real smooth off the unit I have...

[Administrator]

Trying to keep the same polarity when you run it will help extend your motor life. I don't know if the pos and neg are marked on this machine or not.

[Bishopbyname]

I'd have to question any rotary builder that doesn't mark the connectors pos or neg. I'm sure a machine of this quality has them marked though.

[Nedz]

Are they marked cleary on Dragonfly and Stigma machines?

[Deakon]

I believe the newest version of stigmas will only run when corrected the right way. Maybe.

[The Limey]

Are they marked cleary on Dragonfly and Stigma machines?

The bottom binding post has a + above it on a Dragonfly.

[Tat2nu]

I grabbed a red Workhorse rotary from Soba at the Paradise Gathering last weekend and yes they have a "+" engraved next to the positive post on the bottom of the machine. I have not had a chance to use it yet but I will let you know what I think of it when I do get around to it.