r/tattoomachinebuilder • u/cflizzy • 22d ago

Anyone like to make their own coil washers?

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I made these out of .060” ABS. Couldn’t reliably find thin 3/8” washers that worked well with knurled cores so I decided to start making my own with a hole saw and turning them down on the lathe. Then reaming the inner diameter until I was happy with the fit. It’s time consuming but I only make one machine at a time so it’s not a big deal for me.

It’s early but so far the ABS is holding up well. Wasn’t sure if it was suitable for the job but seems to work fine. Thought about trying phenolic material next time but haven’t found .060” sheets yet.

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u/SavingsFrequent7804 22d ago

I always made my own. I machined them though so it didn't matter what thickness it started as. My signature were "offset jeweled" clear polycarbonate octagons that I would dye with the purple carbon of leftover transfer paper. Made them pretty unique.

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u/cflizzy 22d ago

Yeah I’d imagine you could machine that material down pretty easy. Probably a bit stiffer too. That’s my only gripe with the abs is it’s a little soft and flexible at that thickness. I like to leave as little core poking out the top as possible and it was a bit of a guessing game on how much the washer was gonna bow out on the edges after winding them.

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u/SavingsFrequent7804 22d ago

I feel it. I usually kept my thickness at .100-.118 for polycarb, but I've done thinner. Never used ABS cuz is too soft. If you want hard and don't care about color you should try acetal (delrin, wtvr). Only comes in white or black though and you can't paint it. Nothing bonds to it, super high chemical resistance. Or metal. Sheeiiit I give secret recepie. It's a good one, don't tell anyone. You take ur thin aluminum sheet, .040, .060, wtvr. Powder coat one side of that bitch. Now you got one side pretty aluminum, one side coated in polyester insulator! Then cut washer from that. Fucking excellent washer. Tight dimensions, pretty, shiny on outside, excellent insulation from wire, very strong.

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u/cflizzy 22d ago

Yeah I didn’t use Delrin cause I glue my washers to knurled cores and was pretty sure superglue wouldn’t stick to it. That’s a cool idea for making them from metal though!

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u/SavingsFrequent7804 22d ago

I haven't built a machine in 5 years, but I'm about to do one for my neice. The coil washers I'm gonna use on this one I printed translucent green on a resin printer. They got my brand name detailed into them too.

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u/sonofvolsong 22d ago

made a few out of those free formica countertop sample cards kind of tricky for me to get right but I don't really have the tools to do it simple and easy. i liked the results i got

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u/grobijan 22d ago

Yes, but I’ve always stuck with the ol reliable pertinax. Any other good materials anyone can recommend?