National Titanium Machine

Anyone have experience or ideas on Nationals Titanium Machine?

All I know is that there are several grades of titanium,none cheap or easy to machine.Titanium is also a non ferrous metal and a poor conductor of electricity.

Hotspark, thanks for the reply. Very clever advice, I guess I was overlooking the most important nececities of a machine for less important ones(weight and durability). Once again thanks!

Yes I have one...like any machine made by national it is well planned and built and will run for many years without a problem.

i'm happy to see some good comments aboutn those National titanium machine. I was seriously thinking of buying a liner and a shader. i need to find a shader that coulod pack the color in for a huge tribal (the hole back). I currently use some Mickey Shrapz machine, the are awsome i have a set of supreme from Spaulding (they sucks), and an Eikon green monster, but i want to buy some new one to add in my collection. Any suggestion for a good shader?

Titanium is just damn too light. Lack of weight can be as bad as too much weight.

I have one of Nationals Titanium machines, I also found it a bit on the light side, it is a great running machine, but being it is so light, I re-wraped the coils and use it only as a large piece liner

I do actually agree...its a light machine for color work and when I first got mine I was skeptical...I prefer a heavy color pounder but as long as I used the larger jumbo tubes it worked well....but as you said I did eventually turn it into a shader.

National machines look like its the same breed as Spaulding?... True?

I wouldn't say they are part of a bred but both machine builders were successful machine mass producers. Specially in late 80's. National machines are still good workhorses, but spaulding has drop their quality. I had the chance to try one of their "puma" and they are simply cheap machines. Again, is the artist not the machine, but good gear = less problems

damn excuse my typos on that post!!! Crown royal and board posting are not good friends...

GOD NO!!! National is head and shoulders above Spaulding Junk!!! Spaulding is the joke of tattoo supplies ( Voodoo pigment for example) although when Saulding and Rogers years ago they were the name in tattoo supplies...not anymore. National has been supplying the pros in tattooing for many years and still makes and sells nothing but quality stuff Hi Don and Flo!!!

When I just look at the Nationals website, it looks like they sell junk, just like International or Superior... My Mentor uses, Spaulding for liner, you'll see it's the artist not the machine, just like what Fallen King says... But he won't use it for shader though, LOL... If National is a good machine, which one should I purchase, (lightweight)? I'm looking for another back up liner.

National junk? Man do you have a lot to learn....light years better than ITS, Superior or Saulding crap....sure a real artist can do a beautiful tattoo with damn near any machine but why use inferior stuff when the real deal is available at comparable prices?

And no my partner FK did NOT say ya can't use national machines for shaders...he said in his opinion that the Titanium machine was too light for HIS style ...a lot of people LIKE light machines I am not one of them...Nationals precision Swinggate is a MONSTER color packer at under $200. As well as the ERagles with shorty coils. Just remember that National won't sell to you if you are not in a licensed shop or are recommended by an established artist. Spauding will sell to anyone.

that should read National EAGLES...sorry

I should clear myself, when I said "National looks like they Sells Junk", because of the "LOOK" of their website. It looks like they're one of the company that sells junk, like International and Superior. What's good for a lightweight liner?

Flip tat...just click on my name and email me..I will try to help! And yeah the National site is bare bones at best...but they aren't selling websites...they sell damn fine tattoo supplies...but email me and we can talk bro!( or sis hell I dunno if you are f or m?)

cool... We emailed back & forth about the Gorilla Grips, don't remember? Anyway, I'll shoot u an email...

I recently sold my National Flyweight to an Apprentice. I was a 6 wrap liner. I had that machine for years. I never had a problem, not even capacitor. It just seemed to run better and better throughout the years. You can't go wrong with them.

here it is, scroll down: http://www.tattooconnect.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509

I wouldn't compare National to Spaulding, but I see more similarities in their performance to Papillons machines.

Lets see people I know who used Nationals successfully for many years...Jack Rudy ( the Father of fineline black and gray) Gil "the Drill" Montie, Corey Miller, Bob Shaw ( heard of him?lol!) who developed Nationals Eagle machine, Brian Evverett( who designed the Cutback version of Nationals Talon Machine). Nationals quality has remained constant for many years and is still considered the industrys workhorses! In my opinion much higher quality than anything Papillon has ever marketed. National was the pioneer in HLC pigments...that is Homogenized Liquid Color for tattooing. This pigment is still in wide use today and is comparable to almost any pigment on the market. Don and Flo of National Supply are also responsible for the National Tattoo Association an internationally respected organisation of premier tattoo artist world wide.

"Nationals quality has remained constant for many years and is still considered the industrys workhorses! In my opinion much higher quality than anything Papillon has ever marketed." Just a personal observation, Tim. I worked with a guy that had an Eagle from National that he barely used (kicking myself for not buying it from him at the time, now I have no idea where he is), and I tried it out and it felt very similar to my Coastal Waters that I purchased back in '99. I feel that the older Papillons machines are also workhorses, just as are the National's.

Krystof, I guess I was thinkin of the lower quality stuff they are selling now at Papillon, the older coastal waters stuff was good but kinda like the Sharpz machines they have lost integrity along the way. I have a set of National eagles a liner and shader both for $225 or one for $125 if anyone is interested both in like new condition.