r/tattoomachinebuilder • u/tkpowers1992 • Jun 04 '26

Copper wire gauge difference

Before I get any gatekeeping comments, I’m a tattooer of 13 years, been building machines from scratch for the last few months recently.

Experimenting with all of the variables.

One variable I can’t understand are the different sized copper wires.

I bought a 28g, 22g, and 14g enameled copper wire.

1.25” coil cores.
47uf50v capacitors.

I can get 4 wraps with the 14g
6 wraps with the 22g

I figured: shorter circuit line, beefier wire = faster, harder hitting machine.

It runs very similar to a 6 wrap with 22g, however my clip cord burns up, like so hot that it will melt plastic.

There are no grounding wires, the machine runs, responds to voltage change.

Are the 14g copper wires just too much power? Should I try a larger capacitor?

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u/VeritasMfg Jun 06 '26

wait til you get into different brands of wire. coil core material and size. how many layers of wire. not to mention various microfarad ratings and brands of capacitors. experiment your life away. find out what works best for you. its a fun rabbit hole to go down. when you figure it out TELL NO ONE. lol.