Wow. I did a show today that was outside for a church. I was set up about 30 min early. The outoor stage was about 3.5 feet high and the wind blew my Lefler Table with all my props off the stage. It all went crashing to the pavement. Can you imagine? I didn't think the wind would take my Lefler table down like that. Have yall ever lost anything in the wind? I guess I'm looking for a little empathy...

Yup I had wind tip my large lefler also, fortunately it tipped it forward so everything stayed inside just all crashed to the back of it. I was able to tip the table back up and kept going. Very annoying though

Here's what you do if the problem involves rolling but if it's a complete tip-over then you should cut the show short just like you do when it's 110 outside (37 Celsius). I have a small clause in my contracts stating that I am paid gor my time, effort and expertise and if any particular trick or effect is not performed, due to technicle or other reasons as deemed so by myself that no reduction in payment will occurr.

I'm going off on a bit of a tangent but the two are related. One time I had my illusion show unloaded and the facility refused to allow up to use their elivator for a room on the 5th floor so we schlepped all the smaller props up the steps and That Was The Show.
Another time we were outside on top of a hill and a gust of wind blew-over the 40 foot backdrop. So the Asrah was out because the amphitheater was 6 feet high and it was too easy to see everything. (Better to cut something then expose it)

Anyway, for wheels on a stage or ramp (driveway)
Take an extension cord or 502 cable (mich cable) and wrap it around the bottom of two wheels. Just wrap it around then lay the cable to the next wheel and wrap it again.
Another stratagy is to install locking wheels
Another is to carry spring clamps and put them on the wheel
In a pinch, I've even used a 260 balloon.

Hope that stops your tables from rolling.

I've never had my Lefler table tip over. I've had several experiences where the wind would blow, and the table would roll away, and might have gone off the edge of the platform if I hadn't grabbed it. Now I carry two large bull dog clips with me, and when it's windy, I clip them to the 2 back wheels of the table--this is very effective in "locking" them so they can't roll.

Wind must be stronger up north in Canada... Lol

This didn't happen at a gig, but while climbing a mountain. It was New Year's Day and I was climbing Mount Brandon, Ireland's second highest peak, with a group of fairly experienced guys. The same day a hurricane touched the west coast. Four people were killed on a nearby peak. We experienced horrendous conditions which forced us to retreat without reaching the summit.

At one point the geography of the mountain funnelled the wind, doubling its strength. We all got on our bellies and slithered across a large open area. Half way across I decided to stand up and see how strong the wind actually was. I was lifted bodily from the ground and carried about thirty feet before bouncing, then being carried another twenty feet. The second time I hit the ground I flattened down, and slithered on my belly like everyone else!

It was one of the most scary, yet exhilarating, experiences of my life. That wind would have taken your table and never returned it.

Wind, sun, bugs, and multiple noise distractions are the reasons why I don't do outdoor shows!

I have a custom piece installed on my lefler table.

It a piece that hinges up from the top of opened table.

I call it a "hide behind"

Anyway it acts like a sail on a ship when it's windy outside.

So I pot a 55 gal garbage can (if in a park) next to my table
and attach it by using Ratchet Straps around the table and the drum.

Or I will attach it to a stationary post.

The wind in brutal sometimes here in Tucson, AZ.

You just get a gust for no reason.

Yes I've had my table blown over and that's why I do it.

But that Hind behind is great.

I have my show order and funny lines I use taped to flap.

Also company info so I don't forget.

TMI maybe.

I also do very few outside shows.
Todd

And how 'bout them dust devils, George? Ten feet wide and twenty high, picking up everything like a Wizard of Oz tornado, and leaving a 1/4 inch layer of dirt (plus tumbleweeds!) over everything! Including kids and birthday cake ...

Ed

Some of you guys work too hard.

I usually carry sand bags in my van, two 15 lbs, two 50lbs.

I use to worry about the wind messing up my hair. I no-longer have that fear.

Great suggestions and ideas.

They sell furniture rubber feet pads at hardware stores and Wal-Mart. They are small square rubber pads with a indentation in the middle for the wheels. Just buy a set and have them in your table all the time. Slip them under the wheels and you are more secure.

I do a lot of outdoor performances so my shows are pretty windproof. I work out of a valise or a basket and have no props set up on tables that could get blown over.

This also facilitates an easy setup and breakdown as well as maintaining a small footprint so the show can play almost anywhere.

Yup! I went through the phase of two tables and two suitcases, then a "nite club table" and one case, then a suitcase table, ETC., in the '40s and mid '50s. --That's "how it was done" in those days! (The 'Victorian Era" had not come to an end, yet!)

For the last 45 + years, I have worked out of a 13" x 20" x 8" fiber, salesman's case (like a "fat" attache case. It weighs 20+ lbs. Depending on the situation, I can carry in a waiter's cross legs stand, or a 1940's drive in car tray. The car tray was made to hook on a car door so the "car hops" could place your root beer and hotdog on it. The tray hooks on the back of almost any straight or folding chair. (I've yet to find a chair on which it wouldn't work.) In a 1941 Genii ad, Roger Montandon sold them for a few dollars. His were "home made". Mine came from a thrift shop about 25 years ago. I paid less than a dollar for it!. The prop case sits on top of the tray, is solid as the proverbial rock, and I just open the lid and work,

Props are taken out, trick is performed, and props replaced. (No "ditch bags"! All props work in hand (no "working surface" needed. I'm angle proof. Maximum 4 minute setup, 2 minute pack up. (No "kiddie" props) so, I can work for 45 minutes, (60 if required)for almost anyone, almost anywhere.

Oh! and NO WIND PROBLEMS, EITHER! --Lots of Californis schools have their programs "al fresco"!

I had to laugh while reading this, Dick. I realized you had to describe what a "car hop" tray is, since many of the younger ones have never seen one! I like your setup. I can attest to its practical use; good friend of mine uses a similar case, but his is ATA and he can use it as plane luggage.

Yes!, And, when you had finished the root beer, you "tooted" the horn, or turned on your headlights, and the car hop came and removed the tray! Oh! to be that young again!!!

My case is 13" x 20" x 8". I had been using one a bit larger, but there was "space in the caee". Jay had a 13 x 20 x 8, and I asked him why he was using that size. Jay, said that when he was working out of New York, he flew to many dates. (Mark Leddy, his agent, didn't just book NYC. Mark was talent buyer for the Ed Sullivan TV show and had clients "all over".) Jay had bought his case because it "was the largest that would fit under the seat ("carry on" luggage).

You may remember the old air lines joke>>>>>Man says to the airline ticket person: "I want this suitcase to go to Berlin, this hanger bag to Helsinki, and this sample case to Kuala Lumpur." Ticket person say, "We can't do that!" Guy replies, "You did it last week, and I didn't ask you to!"

Although, in the "off season", I would sometimes fly for a lecture tour, etc. On a school tour, I drove my RV. However, I decided that Jay was a most practical performer, and I ordered that size case. It has lasted for over 40 years!

The car hop tray fits inside the case! (ONE trip in, and one trip out!)

My school show runs, normally, 45 minutes. If I'm booked for an evening family show, I do 60 minutes. All props fit in my one case. (Some props are generic, and work in more than one trick or routine.)

I work outdoors fairly often and have to be ready for a decent breeze. That means swap out tricks with candles, bubbles, newspaper or silks,

Richard

I would recommend wind and angle proof magic. Also, no silks if you can help it.