heavy metal??

[grant b.]

i heard, the other day, an artist complain about brass frame machines. when i asked about the weight of it, he said that wasnt it. the conversation was cut short before i could get an explanation.....so whats the deal?
i know different metals hold different values, but is it enough to transfer into the effectiveness of the machine??? any one care to explain?? i want to cut a new frame for my collection, but what is best metal to use.....obviously brass would be heavier, aluminum lighter, but what about the running quilaty???

[tattooing_the_stars]

malleable “ductile” iron

ide never had a problem with this material.

the use it at workhorseirons.com

[inkmunky]

each metal has it's own properties. These properties directly translate down into how the machine needs to be built and eventually for what purpose it's going to be used for. There's multiple reasons most machines are made of brass, bronze or iron/steel.

Aluminum is light and if you need a machine for light delicate work, or you're experiencing medical problems, like tendonitis or carpal tunnel then aluminum would be choice i know lots of artists that use aluminum machines for their small liners.

Brass and Bronze absorb vibrations and but are non conductive.

Iron/steel machines vibrate slightly more but are my favorites, they're just more predictable for me, i've built custom brass machines before but my custom iron/steel pieces run much better.

I could go on forever about the technical aspects of building a machine from scratch, and i'm sure the resident experts here Fallen King and Dank (who i had the pleasure of meeting at the Philly Convention and is a standup guy) would agree. Lots of things play into how the machines run besides materials. Geometry of the frame, core sizes and heights, wire gauges and wraps, spring selection, armature bar size and weight, cap selection, along with personal tuning all play into how a machine will run.

[grant b.]

thanx

[grant b.]

so, what would be the ideal thikness for a machine frame. ive seen very thin frames, and more bulky...