Introducing the Steeldriver. After over a year of design and testing the Steeldriver is ready. It has proven to be an incredibly capable liner and shader with cartridges and needle tube setup. The stroke characteristics of the Steeldriver are different than the other Bowers models in that it takes the stroke philosophy and mechanical give to the next level. The Steeldriver is more snappy off the tip than any other Bowers machine, it still has that mechanical give that keeps you from feeling like you’re skating on thin ice when lining but it’s ability to drop in lines and color equally well off the tip, middle and back of the stroke are second to none.

The Steeldriver design builds off the phenomenon of the cam quarters as mentioned in my book “The Right Tool For The Job”. This is where I explain that rotary machines have a tendency to want to push skin away from the needles as they are coming down because the needles are slowing down on that last quarter of the cams rotation. Rather than punching the needles in like a coil machine they ease in to the skin. The SC Bobber and the Micro Bobber have both been successful at engineering around this phenomenon but the Steeldriver goes a few steps further and eliminates that last quarter of the stroke altogether, the needles come to a complete stop at terminal velocity. What that gives you is an incredibly balanced and controlled stroke that is more capable of lining off the tips of the needles with both large and small groupings. As a shader the Steeldriver punches ink in to the skin with great efficiency. Black and gray as well as other softer techniques can be achieved with the Steeldriver through practice as well.

Ultimately I engineered the Steeldriver to incorporate the best aspects of well tuned coil machines and rotaries together. It is more coil like than any of the other Bowers machines besides my Steeldriver coils, which is why it shares their name. The Steeldriver is plug and play, it’s designed for anyone coming from either coils or rotaries to be able to hook it up and be comfortable with the machine with very little adaptation time.

Joshua Bowers 2 Stroke Drect Drive+

A Few Words From Joshua about this machine:
The time is finally here to introduce my new direct drive project that I’ve been developing with @workhorseirons . I’d like to introduce the 2 Stroke. I called it the 2 Stroke because it has the unique ability among direct drives as having two very unique and different stroke characteristics in one machine. When the machine is hooked up with the positive to the top binding post the 2 Stroke is a killer, snappy super capable long stroke direct drive. Flip the clip cord so the positive is on bottom and it changes the stroke completely. The 2 Stroke has a torsioned swing arm in the cam that reacts to the resistance of the skin. On the “give” setting the needles hit the skin softer and less abrasive but the best part is that unlike typical “give” mechanisms the give on the 2 Stroke doesn’t control needle depth. The needles will hit the skin with less force but still penetrate the skin the same depth as if no give was used. This ensures that all ink is deposited in the depth of retention, needle depth is more predictable and tattoos heal more solid on all the different types of skin.

Specs:

• 3 Piece Bolt-Up Body
• Blackened Steel Vise
  
• Anodized Black Aluminum Motor Cover and Frame
  
• Deluxe Brass Hardware
• Now with Bowers Brass Weighted Wingnut to balance Clip Cord Pull
  
• Weighing in at a mere 4.65 oz!
• Runs best between 3-6 Volts
• 5mm Stroke
• Pushes any grouping with ease...big stuff, small stuff, no problem
  
• Good with Carts or Needle on Bar
• Lining, Color Packing, Stippling, B&G....it does it all

Joshua Bowers SC Bobber

A Few Words From Joshua about this machine:
This is a very powerful and capable machine. It has real nice stroke characteristics, nice and snappy with the perfect amount of bog. The best machine if you're wanting to use one machine for lining, shading, or both. Designed for use with cartridges but is equally effective running needle and tube setup. It has a nice snappy powerful stroke that will drop in nice single pass lines with large or small groupings. As a shader, turn the voltage down to slow the speed and still have that punch to drop in solid color or blend with very low trauma.

Specs:

• Precision Machined Aluminum Body with Durable Black Anodize Finish
  
• Blackened Steel Vise and Spring Shelf
• Deluxe Brass Hardware
• Plus Bowers Heavy Brass Wingnut for improved forward balance to keep the weight over your hand and balance out the pull of your clip cord
  
• Weighing in at a mere 4 oz!
• Operating Range between 4-7 Volts
• Snappy Stroke
• Pushes any grouping with ease
• Great for Lining and Shading
• Needle on Bar or Cartridge Use

Joshua Bowers Micro Liner Care Instructions

Joshua Bowers Rubber Band Placement Diagram

Joshua Bowers Micro-Liner Rotary Tattoo Machine


A Few Words From Joshua about this machine:
This machine is designed,built and tuned to run like a coil machine. The tuning is in the frame geometry and setup so there's no knobs or settings to fall out of adjustment. Ready to tattoo out of the box. Light, but not too light. Very punchy and snappy on the tip of the stroke and backs off slightly in the middle of the stroke. Great for sculpting fine finesse lines ran off the needle tips and also great for burying a large grouping liner and pulling a solid single pass lines quickly.

Specs:

• 3 Piece Bolt-Up Body
• Blackened Steel Vise and Spring Shelf
• Anodized Black Aluminum Body
• Deluxe Brass Hardware
• Now with Bowers Brass Weighted Wingnut for better balance
• Weighing in at a mere 3.65 oz!
• Runs best between 6-7 Volts
• Pushes any grouping with ease

Joshua Bowers Micro Liner Care Instructions

Joshua Bowers Rubber Band Placement Diagram

Joshua Bowers Big Can Rotary Tattoo Machine
 

A Few Words From Joshua about this machine:
Super smooth and consistent machine. Powerful through the whole stroke but designed to back off slightly in the middle and back end of the stroke to prevent overworking the skin. Super versatile, great for color saturation, blending, and even black and gray. Plenty of stroke to hang out for nice traditional whips or back it up and increase the voltage for smooth saturation. Has a penetrating stroke down to 4 volts which is great for stippling.

• 3 Piece Bolt-Up Body
• Black Zinc Finish
• Deluxe Brass Hardware
• Now with Bowers Brass Weighted Wingnut for better balance
• Weighing 4.75oz
• Runs best around 7-7.6 Volts
• Pushes any grouping with ease

MADE IN THE USA


Joshua Bowers Big Can Care Instructions

Joshua Bowers Rubber Band Placement Diagram