How to Make a Prison Tattoo Gun

We are fully aware that tattoos were initially associated with criminals. Thanks to the realizations of modern society, tattoo designs nowadays are as normal as pierced ears.

But back to that early association of tattoos to gangs and criminals, it somehow follows that tattooing is quite a normal routine done inside prison cells. There, in the absence of appropriate materials and sterilizing tools, a prison tattoo machine (tattoo gun) has been created. The homemade version of the real deal accomplishes the same goal, minus the assurance that the procedure is safe and clean. But who worries those little sanitary concerns in prison anyway?

In prison or from the comfort of your own home, if you want to make an impromptu tattoo machine, you need these materials:

• 1 bic pen
• electrical tape
• guitar string or stiff wire
• tooth brush
• battery-operated motor
• pencil eraser

The bic pen is the tube that will house the needle, which is the guitar string or the stiff wire, whichever is available. You need to cut at least 5 inches off the guitar string to make the needle. A battery-operated motor (the small one) can come from a vehicle toy or a walkman.

The procedure

1. Remove the ink tube of the bic pen and get the ball out.
2. Insert the needle into the pen. Voila! Your needle is ready.
3. Prepare the toothbrush by removing the bristles. You can cut the head off in order to hasten the process. Heat it up in the middle using a lighter to bend the toothbrush to a 90-degree angle.
4. Attach the pen to the toothbrush with an electric tape.
5. Attach a pencil eraser to the center of the motor shaft.
6. Stick the bent end of the guitar string into the eraser.
7. Now to make the thing work, you need a power source. This requires some know-how on electricity. For example, you can connect batteries to a switch that powers the motor to get that thing running.

You could then use a cheap deodorant and an ink pen for your tattoo. Go try it yourself. Or better yet, try it on a banana for testing, like this guy.

If you’re going to design your own tattoo gun, go for one of these gun tattoo designs.