I was wondering what is a good and easy way to attach and detach a silk from a reel to make the silk easier to hand out for examination?

Here's a tip I read posted right here on the Magic Cafe by Richard Hughes (or may have been Dick Oslund ... or both of them at one time or another ... )

Use a small dress maker's snap. https://www.amazon.com/Meikeer-Sewing-Fa......PHXVMLH/

Sew one part of the snap to the corner of the silk and tie the other end to the end of the thread on the reel. Do your thing with the reel (serpentine silk or silk through mic stand) , then you can easily detach the silk from the reel. I actually don't think it is necessary to hand it out for examination, but even if you do I doubt that anyone notices the tiny snap sewn on to one corner of the silk. The reason I like this method of attaching/detaching it is so I can detach the silk and then use it for another effect.

Now that I think about it again, I think Dick Oslund's variation on this was to not even bother sewing one half of the snap to the corner of the silk, but only attach it to the reel thread, then push the other half of the snap through the corner of the silk to attach it to the other half of the snap that is attached to the thread. When you separate the two halves with your thumbnail the silk comes free from the thread. If you drop the loose half of the snap then it falls to the floor unnoticed . You might be able to retrieve it later if you can find it , or just replace it. (you get 100 sets of snaps for $5.99 on Amazon).


Another Cafe member, Dr_J_Ayala , suggests using a button and hole. The hole is made in one corner of the silk and sewn up like the button holes on a shirt (if you don't sew, a seamstress can do this for you), and the button is tied to the end of the thread on the reel.

While a dress snap is a very good way to be able to separate the silk from the thread, I would also suggest that handing the silk out for examination isn't such a good idea. Why? I recommend just finishing the effect, putting the silk away and moving onto another trick.

I don't hand the silk out for examination, but I do use it for other effects. I tie the silk to the eyelet on the reel using a slipped knot, so I can just tug on it to remove the knot.

I've been trying to contact Dr.J Ayala for a while, do you know if he's OK?

I haven't had any personal contact with Dr_J_Ayala. I only know him from his posts here on the Magic Cafe. I have no reason to think that he is not OK.


It seems to me that activity on the Magic Cafe is at an all-time low, so it could be that Dr_J_Ayala simply lost interest and moved on like many other formerly active participants.


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Hi
I know its a old thread here but I give it a try. I have a yellow silk and do the untying knot with it. I am looking now for a yellow thread for my el duco reel. What quality and material should I go for... I am doing it on stage.And if somebody have a any tipps with lighting what works fine and what not... would be great.
Best regardes
Shorty

You wanted a bonded nylon twisted thread. It is often used in sewing cushions for upholstery.

I faced this problem as kid back in the 50's as I love to produce a silk at my fingertips, then later use it in other effects.
This required it being attached to a thread at the beginning - being detachable when desired without a trace.

Take one cm patch of pale latex rubber to make washer - small hole in the center. A piece of tire tube can work as well if you don't mind black.
Slip it onto the thread and add a small bead - 1/8" but experiment with silk size. I never used more than 18"
Wrap the tip-end of the silk around the bead and slip the washer over the bead to lock in place - finger pressure from the thread side.
To release, slide the washer over the bead from the silk side - a simple act of running your fingers down the entire silk.

I haven't done this in decades and there may be other materials that can work as a washer - a blob of silicone caulk maybe.
The thread never pulls against the washer - it just keeps the twisted silk in place.

Berland's silk appear worked the same manner.