My father-in-law is a master woodworker who has agreed to build me any illusions I want at cost. I'm looking at having him build me 4 illusions to start off with, and was wondering if anyone could give me a rough estimation on the cost of materials. They would all be built from Osbourne plans.

Shadow Box-Revised
She's Come Undone
Girl Through Glass
Deceptive Steps

My father-in-law is an excellent wood worker with impecable craftsmanship, but has never built any illusions up to this point. Is there anything that would cause him any hassle? I'm assuming because he's following plans, and already has the skills, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Thanks

Hi Lowphat,

materials costs can vary greatly depending on supplier. Shop around locally for the best prices (eg a tin of contact adhesive cost E24.99 from a small DIY shop yet I got the same tin for E9.38 from a trade supplier!)

It is a good idea to always check measurements before cutting anything, even the best plans are notorious for incorrect measurements. Deceptive steps in particular may need adjusting/enlarging to fit the assistant.

Best of luck with the project

Carl

This is not going to answer your question and is going to sound painfully obvious, but here it goes...

The best thing you can do to help keep costs down is to make sure your father-in-law knows everything there is to know about the illusions he's building for you. I've seen far too many cases where an expert theatrical carpenter is building a prop or a piece of scenery without understanding its purpose and either a) doesn't catch an obvious problem or, worse yet, b) makes a slight change trying to be helpful, only to find out later that the change is very bad. The answer is always the same, "Well, I didn't know what it was for -- nobody told me."

We don't need to get into whether your father-in-law is "a magician" or not. If he's building the things, help him to help you by making sure he understands everything about the illusions: how they work, how they play, how they pack, the timing, the routine, and so forth.

That's good advice, and much appreciated.

From what I've seen, the Osborne plans will only get you half way there. I'm a full time builder and I know when building any prop, you MUST need to know how to solve many problems that will arise from the construction of most props. The more you know about magic the better you will be able to solve these problems. Building a chest of drawers of entertainment center, isn't the same as bulding most magic props, and the measurements in the Osborne plans are for example only, so you will need to "fit" each prop for the assistant you will use.
Just a "heads up" to consider.

Jack

Thanks Jack. I'm getting some good advice here, keep it coming.

Everyone one summed it up correctly, I would also tell you to purchase Rand Woodburys Illusion Works DVD/VHS tapes and let your father-in-law view them, I also had a master cabinet maker try and build some illusions for me a few years back and he didn't do such a good job, only after he saw the tapes and the other illusion I had in my warehouse did he fully understand but it is a learning process and it is not as easy as you may think, even for a woodworker that has been building things for years.

-Lusion

Lots of good magic woodworking talk over at http://www.pmzz.org/messages

I've found it's not so much the technical difficulty of the building that confuses non-theater folk, but the concept. Furniture and cabinet makers think in terms of strength and durability. They build to last. In theater, we design for deception, look and portability. I've had similar issues with seamstresses working as costume makers.

Thanks,
Richard

Painting is a major key and not doing it right will place the effort of building to so-so illusion.

Ilusionworks VHS tapes can help here and a cheap price considering making a mistake. Also a miniture model can catch problems before it occurs in the completed illusion. I made a project difficult by not measuring the door it had to go through. I had to cut the project to get it through. (This has happened to others, too!)

The girl through glass I hope you are using plexiglass because it is a lot lighter.

The Shadow Box is a nice one to start. Estimate wood to be about $200.

So much great info. I really appreciate it. Imagine if we didn't have such a place where we could share ideas and tips. Thanks a bunch!

My advice is start with something simple. There are a lot of hidden costs involved with building illusions. An experienced woodworker is not an experienced illusion builder. There's more to the whole deal than making a cabinet .. really. It's a different way of thinking, making a prop strong yet light .. stuff like that. I've been building illusions for years .. and I'm still learning ways of doing things better. Keep it simple before you jump into a Zig Zag .. trust me.

Steve

Sometimes plans also ask you to do things in construction that defy logic to a true craftsman.

Some books on construction (Gustafson, the Woodbury tapes) read through as many plans that you can get your hands on and take notes. While Osborne plans are simplistic, each one many contain a "gem" on building.

If you have a chance to get to see some of the Owen schematic plans they actually include a material take off list. This is something you and your father-in-law should do for each illusion. Then put the costs in. What type of casters do you plan to use, what type of legs (welded?), ordinary plywod vs. birch (Russian/Finnish) vs. true marine ply, steel hardware vs. brass, if he is good, then you want to use the best materials possible. Because the main cost of the illusion is the time that goes into building it right.

By building, and buying, your material for all the illusions at the same time, you can save $$$. Have your father-in-law do up a cutting list, and try to nest as many pieces into the one sheet of ply that you can. Minimize the scrap.

Good luck!

It is great fun to take a prop from design (even if from purchased plans) to performance.

Blair Marshall
"ShaZzam!"

Hey Eric,

I was just wondering how things are coming along with the illusions? I'm doing some building myself right now and it's good to hear how others are doing.

Thanks,
Richard

I ended up purchasing an illusion as opposed to having one built. I finally got my hands on a copy of Greater Magic by Hilliard a couple of weeks ago. I'm going to have him start with a couple of the illusions in there, and then see how those come out. Then we'll move on from there.

Sounds good. I'm in the middle of building the Girl through Ribbon that's described in GM. What Illusion did you purrchase?

Thanks,
Richard

Time Barrier. Light weight, affordable, and with the presentation I have in mind for it, a huge asset.