I will definitely have to agree with you Gabe on the Tannen's Bill Tube. It certainly is a beautiful piece of magic, I saw it performed the last time I was at Tannen's. Unfortunately I can't compare it to the Viking performance wise but it certainly was a finely crafted item.

Joe

Man, reading about bill tubes reminded me of a well built brass one I had about 30 years ago. I can't even remember what happened to it Does this happen to anyone else? I'm starting to wonder now how many other items kinda disolved over the years lol

You can see the bill tube by Antonio Romero in
http://www.themagicworkshop.com

Well, I still do not have a bill tube but it will not take long until I get one. I see that RNTII have released a new bill tube. Does anybody has experience with this one? I had the chance of testing a Perfect Bill Tube (Magic Makers). I would be interested in knowing what people think about this one as well. A person told me that the Perfect Bill tube was essentially the same Tannen's Bill Tube that Tony Spina had handed to Magic Makers about a year and a half ago. This person got the information directly from Mr. Spina.

Thanks,

QH.

Whatta about Bazar de Magias: Brass Bill Tube?
http://www.magia.com.ar/index.php?w=show......mId=1587
or this one
http://www.magies.com/catalogpro/magie/t......mp;lg=fr

I finally got my Tannen's Bill Tube. It is a very well made piece. I will have a lot of fun with it. I thought that I would pass a bit of info that I gather during my search. As I said before, I had the chance to play with the Magic Makers Professional Bill Tube and I thought that it is comparable in quality to Tannen's at a lower price. It is completely flat at the bottom and the edges are perfectly machined. There is though, a very slight roughness if you slide your finger around. I do not know what others think about this one but I would say that it is fairly good. I would like ot try the Viking as well.

THanks to all for your comments,

QH.

I have the Bill Tube Deluxe from Hank Lee's, the bottom looks odd and draws heat. Is the Super Bill Tube from Tannen's that much better?

Thanks
Keith

It appears that Hank Lee over charges for the Deluxe Bill Tube, I see other retailers selling the exact same thing for $10 less. I brought mine about a year ago before I knew anything about Magic Retailers.

Tannen sells the Super bill Tube for $85 and that is a lot. Magic Makers Bill Tube Perfect can be brought for $49. I just hope the Super Bill Tube from Tannen's is worth the cost.

I have learned a lot from Magic Café.

Many thanks
Keith

I do not know if you called Vicking yet, But if you have not I will say they are the best ones to call for brass bill tubes. I had one for ever and some how lost it and did not hesitate to call Vicking for a new one that was as good as the old one.

Today I got my new Bill Tube (Super) from Tannen's. It's so much better than the Bill Tube Deluxe that I brought from Hank Lee's, and I assume it is the Viking Bill tube.

Tannen's Bill Tube has a very flat, smooth, and perfect bottom. No one will notice the bottom at all, which means it won't draw any heat. The other Bill Tube that I got from Hanks has concentric rings on the bottom, therefore it draws heat very easily.

The other good news is that Tannen's bill tube is longer and thicker than the bill tube from hanks, which means I only have to roll the bill and it will fit in the tube without hitting the bolt. The other bill tube is slightly shorter and requires that you fold the bill and then roll it so it does not hit the bolt. You could slide the bill under the bolt if you get lucky, but if not then you are going to have problems. The problem with folding the bill is that it takes too long and ruins the presentation.

The Cap on Tannen's tube does not screw on, it slides on quickly, which is quicker than the screw on cap of Viking Tube. Not sure if this really matters, but if you don't want to waste time screwing the cap on then Tannen's bill tube is the way to go.

The only thing I was not happy about Tannen's Bill Tube was the hanky that was included. It is kind of lame, but at least they provided one while the viking does not. I use a navy blue bandana that I brought from Wal-mart, works fine.

I am very glad that I now have Tannen's Bill Tube. A whole lot easier to work with and don't have to worry about the bottom drawing heat.

Thanks
madkiki

There is always The Heat is On by Brad Manuel, for a 'different' direction you may choose to explore.

For me, Madkiki hit the nail on the head- Unlike other versions, the Tannen's bill tube does NOT have the concentric rings on the bottom, which are indeed suspect. It is flat, and non-descript.

Magic Makers has a bill tube called professional and perfect.
Other than one having a screw on cap and the other(perfect)having a padlock, does anyone know if both have a flat bottom?

I have bought the Viking Bill Tube and it is great. Ecept one single thing - it screeches like a wounded banshee when I do the dirty work Does anybody have simmilar problems and if yes how you get around that??

I was really happy when I got it but unfortunatly am pretty disappointed now.

greets

Steve, was the Johnson Tube threaded? I lost my tube years ago in a storage unit and looking for another one, I can’t find one that has a lock and is threaded.

The Viking one is locked and threaded.

I would say that the Viking Bill Tube is perfect if it was a little bit larger.

At this point, there have been so many produced in China, India, and other places that it would be interesting if someone who has a huge collection would do a comprehensive review of them.

I have a viking for sale if anyone is interested. pretty much brand new.

Hope this is a good topic to post my questions.

I picked up a Trickmaster Ultimate Brass Bill Tube on a make-an-offer table. It is the threaded cap plus lock version. Unfortunately the instructions are devoid of technique. By experiment, I learned how to roll the bill to the right size, but it is still a little slow to perform the mischief quickly. Too much fumbling and maneuvering. I also tried a jacket pocket that they suggested but the tube will not stay in the correct configuration, so not good. It is easier (but not perfect) to do the moves if the tube is lying concealed on a table ledge, though That is not a performance configuration that I use. I would like to use a pocket. Can someone suggest a resource (DVD for purchase say) on techniques on how to handle bill tubes in general?

I haven't listed all of the other little impediments I'm having in getting the bill to move to its proper location! I've practiced a bit and this certainly isn't a "beginners" trick as advertised, at least not with the tube I bought.

At any rate, since the Trickmaster has insufficient teaching I would not recommend it.

Phil

It has been 15 years since this topic began. Since then, the Bill Tube market has changed repeatedly. Not too many of the traditionally available ones from yesteryear are still manufactured.

So, time to start over to see what is available and well designed and made. Believe it or not, a rather challenging task!

By the way, I have seen some of you prefer a flat bottom but the concentric circles design is also popular because of its ability to hide/camouflage any seams.

Then you have the screw off top which I doubt is being manufactured these days and then the lock which is the standard model and a darn good one.

I am going to take a look see at what is out there and I will then report back here letting you know what I find.

By the way, I worked in a magic shop a million years ago and remember us carrying the Tannen model and perhaps one other but cannot recall. The Tannen one was excellent.