The tattoo gun is a fascinating piece of machinery. Taking into account that the history of humans, tattoos, and body modification is about as old as the history of humanity itself, the modern tattoo gun is a monument to many peoples desire to express themselves or otherwise adorn their bodies with tattoo art.

For the purposes of explaining how a modern tattoo gun works, let’s imagine the gun as consisting of three separate sections. We’ll call the first section the tattoo gun base. This base area is what gives the tattoo machine the name of a tattoo gun, as it is similar in appearance to a gun handle. Inside the base there are two wire coils wrapped around an iron core.

Next we have the tattoo gun mechanism. It holds two silver contact points and has a spring mechanism This spring connects to the tattoo gun base, connecting to the tattoo needle arm. This arm connects to individual needles and is what moves them up and down.

The needles themselves move through the third part of our tattoo gun, called the sanitary tube. The sanitary tube is home to the tattoo ink and the tattoo needles. It’s job is to take the ink and load it into the needle.

When power is applied to the tattoo gun, the tattoo gun kicks into gear: power moves through all three parts to activate the gun, allowing the needles to load up with ink from the sanitary tubes, which then penetrate the skin. These needles create tiny little holes in the persons skin with each skin penetration, depositing a small amount tattoo ink into the flesh each time. (Note that the power supply is a separate piece of tattooing equipment, attached to the gun via a power cord. It’s often then controlled by a pedal on the floor that allows a tattoo artist to easily turn power off and on using his or her foot.)

Tattoo artists must coordinate this movement properly so that the ink is placed into the correct depth of the skin. If the tattoo ink is pushed too far into the body, the immune system gets to work absorbing and expelling it. If it’s too close to the surface the skin, the same things happens, and the ink just fades away.

There are variations to how different guns work, but the above description qualifies as the basic mechanics of how a tattoo gun does it’s job. It’s possible to see then how home made tattoo guns are possible through some relatively simple engineering. Or for that matter, it’s also easy to see how prison tattoo guns could be made by a creative prisoner with access to different electronics which could be broken a part and made into a amateur tattoo gun.

For a non serious look at tattoo gun equipment, here’s an entertaining video showing how to make a tattoo gun from an electric toothbrush!

Tattoo Gun- Homemade In 5 Minutes.