So I'm curious about the Perfect Silk to Ball by JL Magic (not to be confused with their standard auto silk to ball). Does anyone have this? What is the size of the ball? How sturdy is the gimmick? I have had problems with the metal auto silk to ball in the past. I treat them delicately, but they tend to not last very long. I wish I had a Viking but they don't seem to be making them any more.

Thanks in advance.

I had never heard for the "Perfect Silk to Ball"--so I looked it up on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ANQwwpYpr0

There's a section of the video that shows the "Before" version (i.e. the old style silk to ball) that required meticulous setup).
Then there's the section around 0:4 seconds where there's a row of 9 or 10 silks silks lying on a table and a guy comes in and picks them up two at a time (one in each hand) and tosses them into the air.

The demo shows balls being tossed into the air and landing on the floor.

At 1:29 in the clip, it looks like the ball is stolen from a you-know-what by the left hand and still the silk from the right hand is casually placed into the left hand and instantly changes into a ball. Very magical looking.

At the end a black ball is seen in the corner of the table. I wonder what other colors the ball comes in.

----- Sonny

From the video, it looks like it's only advantage is a quick connect, clip, magnet, or pin setup. I would bet you can't drop them on the floor. I bounced a JL ball with shell and it cracked to many pieces.

I would bet it is the same ball with the standard model, it is the connection that they were demonstrating in the video promo. In my opinion.

The best part is the quick hookup. It's pretty intense. However, the first time I tried to "set it" the plastic cracked and now it's hard to set with the key. I also have a viking which I highly recommend. They are hard to find for sure. I got mine of SME on FB so maybe ask around on there. You might get lucky.

I received my perfect automatic silk to ball yesterday and I am super impressed. I have owned (and own) several of the metal ones from Asia and this is really solid. The hookup is great. Stucky, that stinks that yours cracked. Mine seems like solid construction. I have tested it several times and it works beautifully. I will probably pick up a couple more.

Good to know, Peter. The original one that I had (European, I think) had a pin (read, finger-shredding spike) to catch the silk. A later one I got used velcro. I wanted one that was pool ball size (2 1/4") so I made one. First time I tested it, I had failed to notice a tiny burr on the inside of the threaded part where the key goes in. When I set it off, it worked like a charm, but it also drilled a 1/4" plug out of my thumb in a nano second.

Ouch! Did you work this out and try again?

Nope. I was beyond frustrated as the entire guts were hand-made and mostly useless after that. I just stayed with the smaller version that didn't try to kill me. Ha! That was years ago.

I think in retrospect I would have made a screw-in piece that would go where the key is used. If it had a button of sorts on the end that had a curve like the ball, it would be much safer to use, and would more or less blend in. I would also prefer that the ball be spun from metal, and not plastic like the one I made. If the plastic one was ever dropped, it would likely shatter because of the weight of the inside stuff, which was all brass.

An older gentleman came into Magic Inc. one Saturday afternoon, when I was helping behind the counter. He wanted to sell some small props, so I called Jay from the back room. He came out and the older man started removing stuff from the large paper sack. Jay spotted a spirit trumpet such as used by spirit mediums. Jay's eyes lit up! He WANTED that trumpet!!!, He bought the whole bag. When the man left with a mittful of folding scratch. Jay went thru the bag. Some decks of gaffed cards, the trumpet, some other items that I've forgotten, AND, A WILLMAN Silk to ball!!! Jay had no use for it, but, he knew I did a ball routine. He tossed me the ball--which I GRABBED. I used it for several years for an extra finish for my routine.

Yes, Michael! That needle tried to get me, but, never succeeded. After a couple season's use, I was winding it one day. I heard strange sound, and felt a strong vibration. Mr.Willman's masterpiece had died.

Perfect Silk to Ball is nice upgrade on the earlier silk to ball gimmick. Here you can play with your silks from other routines before you change to a ball. Recommended...!!!

To those who have JL's Perfect Silk To Ball - may I ask how noisy is it ? The Viking version I had once upon a time worked well, but was LOUD.

They make noise because they are mechanical. These are for stage magic, where your music would cover stage noise. Just like it covers your foot steps, placing things down on a table or throwing items in your dump box/bag.

I Have a Willman one somewhere in storage. Grrr

I understand that these Silk to Ball devices are loud and are intended to be used for Stage performance , to music , to cover the sound , but I acquired one recently that seems VERY LOUD to me (compared to the Viking Magic version I had a long time ago ... which was loud , but not that LOUD).

Has anyone had experience lubricating the spring to make it a bit quieter ? A single drop of fine machine oil ? Or white graphite ? I don't want to experiment or go with someone's "hunch" , so I'm looking for anyone who has actual experience successfully lubricating a silk to ball device.