For any of you that have seen Paul Wilson's "The Magic Box" short film:
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......um=38&24

Does anyone know who built the coin effect prop, or know if anyone makes a wooden version of the prop like the video?
Thank you in advance.
All the best

I know what the effect is. But the only available one is in cheap plastic.

The magic is not in the box....

like most things it is in the heart and memory.

Harris
who is blessed to still have his 92 year young papa, living with him.

Thank you Harris.
But I am only using the film as a visual reference for the prop, not trying to recreate the magic therein.
I love the effect. I loved performing the plastic version.
But I would simply like a wooden made version of an ADAMS COIN CHANGER Penny to Dime.
All the best

Perhaps Viking or Collector's Workshop?

Harris

Thanks Harris.
Alas, they don't have what I am looking for.
I did find this:
http://www.magiccrafter.com/grampas-bloc......he-block
I requested some more info from them but haven't heard back.

Oh well. Seems no one has an answer.

No specific answer, but I will say this…

I've watched The Magic Box again, again, at least a few dozen times by now. It is everything I remember magic to be in my life. It's how I came into the art and eventually became a part of it. I've always remembered one of the tricks my grandfather showed me as a little boy, and then over and over again as I grew up and he grew old. A trick with a dime and a brown paper bag. WOW!

He's gone many years now, but I can still see him doing the trick for me, I can still hear his voice and see my face in absolute wonderment. I came to realize that the real trick was that the magic was never in the dime or the brown paper bag…It was in me, him and us, something that he planted that would magically last forever.

I hope this little movie was put up for an award for short film, etc., because I think it would win. Not simply because of the magic, but because of the absolute beauty of its truth.


*And now that I've said all that, I think I do happen to have a person to point you to that could do this…Reach out here on the Café forum to Thomas Wayne (Perhaps PM him). He is a master craftsman when it comes to woodwork, and would probably understand how to make and do this as to the magic involved.

Thank you for your thoughtful answer MB.
I'll take your advice.
All the very best
- Щ

I find it interesting that I did not see any magic effect the first few times I watched the video. But it was very magical by implication, by what we didn't see, and by what we imagined. That's what a good magician knows how to do.

It was only when I made a concerted effort, and replayed the 1 section when the magic is shown to the little girl, that I could barely detect a transformation (I initially thought the trick was a ball and vase type of vanish)

but again, the impact was there w/o noticing that.

John

I actually saw no "magic", but lots of Magic.

Reminded me of the first time I saw the "old" nickles to dimes.

Harris
who used to collect comic books (back when they were 12 cents) and now collects memories and smiles.....Thanks for the memories....

Is this the item?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-atgkvJZ4A

Hi Jonathan,
Thank you for posting.
I've linked to that makers site above with a more pared down version of their effect in the video:
http://www.magiccrafter.com/grampas-bloc......he-block
I emailed the company twice asking what the difference between the Block and Granpa's Block is, and if the simpler Block version is like the one in Paul Wilson's short dilm.
Granpa's Block seems to use a different method and has a lot more additions to the basic effect. That is wonderful, but not what I am looking for.
I guess I will try and email once more.
I have been scouring sites of craftsmen who specialize in wooden magic props, but so far have come up empty.
Thank you again to everyone for your help
- Щ

Although diffferent, a beautifully made wooden okito box or slot box can provide a similar simple prop with wondrous magical properties!

This film is another aspect of Paul Wilson's artistry. Good stuff!

Hi Cperkins,
Thank you for your reply.
I do have several Okito, Slot and Boston boxes in wood, brass and aluminum in my possession. And although I love the multitude of effects that I can accomplish with them, alas, they are not what I am after.
All the best.
- Щ

Perhaps a friend with a lathe could help.

I know I have helped friends out with magic...as they have helped me with large magic wands...also known as chain saws, when I tree fell in my backyard.


I wasn't home, but it did make a sound.

Harris coin guy, ventriloquist...reader & righter
whose lips didn't move a bit, when the tree screamed!

What's great about the box is that it provides a bit of misdirection that the bare block doesn't have. (I'm surprised the block fools anybody, actually.) By hiding the magic inside a special box, something mysterious must surely take place. Picking up a cup of tea adds a neat way to appear clean after the effect.

Since watching the film, I've had the same wish to get a box like that myself. I thought I might be able to find an old box in an antique store, consignment store or junk shop and fit it with some cushions or felt in the base and top, as in the film. The top cushion would hide the gimmick, of course. I own the Adams block and would just cannibalize it to take the parts I need to outfit the box.

There's a moment in the film when the grandfather turns the lid toward the child. This puzzled me until I decided it was just an error in the acting that the director didn't catch. Still love the film anyhow, especially the late smile on the teenager.

Good catch. A little puzzling.
Maybe it was an artistic choice to enhance or allude to the idea that it was in fact a "Magi Box"?
Possibly, also, to throw we magicians off a bit and allow us to feel a little wonder as well?

I was going to suggest earlier when I posted, making one yourself, something like this. Perhaps a crafts store would be helpful as to the little wood box, felt, a top, etc. Then you could build it and put together the way you want it, easy enough. If not, then just snapshot the box and take it to a wood worker, he should be able to make something easy enough that looks like it. Or, you could always reach out to Paul WIlson about it…I'm sure he would appreciate the great interest and might send you the notes/pics on making one. Good luck with it.

Thanks for the suggestion MB.
Much appreciated