|
|
John Long Inner circle New Jersey 2826 Posts |
This is a simple "kids" trick, but I would like some help with an effect where a match (or piece of wood..) is pierced through by a safety pin; the pin is closed, then the free end of the match is pushed through the other band of the safety pin.
http://www.youtube.com/user/cormatches?f......t8kkZ2P8 I made a few wood pieces, and noticed that the wood just bounces wildly around, unless the wood is rather tight on the pin. Even then, I "miss" maybe a third of the time (doesn't move far enough, or too far and makes a noise). Any suggestions? Does any one do this? Thanks; John
Breathtaking Magic;
Not Breath Taking |
Dr_J_Ayala Inner circle In search of Vlad Dracul and his 2169 Posts |
Maybe a touch of rubber cement would eliminate the noise?
I have found that sometimes it is these little effects like these that really floor people and get the biggest/best reactions. They should never be overlooked because they are "kid tricks!" |
Mary Mowder Inner circle Sacramento / Elk Grove, CA 3659 Posts |
I've had the same problem you describe. I made a tiny wand out of tubular plastic to take the place of the match and it lasted longer before the same problem cropped up.
I look forward to reading a fix for this. -Mary Mowder |
John Long Inner circle New Jersey 2826 Posts |
Mary:
I broke the match almost before I started, but it's light weight, and it seems it would make less noise than plastic or denser wood. I tried a tubular piece of plastic, but seems way to springy. A solid piece might work, and depending on the material, might deaden the sound. The best for me, so far, has been a wood dowel. I just needed to use the smallest drill bit, and the largest safety pin, so that the fit was snug. I like the idea of making it look like a small wand. I haven't performed this for anyone yet, but I was thinking of leading into this about a story from when I drove a stick-shift. When I first was learning to shift, I had a hard time shifting into a different gear, and I would grind the gears, or not get into the gear at all. Latter shifting became easier. There were even a couple of times when I didn't put the clutch in, but somehow just felt the timing, and shifted (w/o clutching), with very little if any, noise. It surprised me. So, since most of matter is empty space (over 99%), it may be possible to just fidget around, and get this wand to fit between the atoms of the pin (not)... So the noise could be anticipated, since I didn't quite squeeze through all of the atoms. One other note. I find holding the head of the pin easier, and instead of pushing down on the stick with my thumb, I push up on the stick with a finger. This almost seems to give better control. Also, if I don't push hard enough, it just looks lie the stick moved further through (same for pushing down, but, to me, the situation of not pushing hard enough seems to look less fishy when performed pushing up on the stick, try it and let me know if you agree) Posted: Jun 11, 2011 5:06pm It seems odd to talk about "finesse" for a kids trick but.. It seems that if you "pump" the stick a few times before the penetration, then there is an addition visual continuity of motion, that really seems to improve the effect. Further, if you don't press hard enough, it just looks like the stick traveled further - the continuity of the motion seems to negate what otherwise seemed to be troubling. Also, as I stated above, by first using my finger to push the stick up for the penetration, the eye seems to focus on the stick, and the concern over pressing to lightly seems gone. Then, after doing the "up" penetration, immediately doing a "down" penetration seems minimize the concern over the suspicious appearance that results if the stick ends up to far from the pin's band. This is a cute trick!, it looks amazing, and is a good little close-up effect; I'm just not sure where to fit it in
Breathtaking Magic;
Not Breath Taking |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Rings, strings & things » » Match Through Safety Pin Help (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.03 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |