When I was a youth, I was an amateur magician, and though never a great performer, I've always kept up a scholarly interest. One of the old, classic effects is a production-box known as a "Square Circle".
These tend to be from the "gaudy box" school of magic, which was rejected by the celebrated 19th century French conjuror Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, in favor of apparatus disguised to look like recognizable, ordinary objects.
This is an attempt to do the same with this classic piece of illusion apparatus:
I decided that an old-fashioned animal cage would do the job, and the style was inspired by the hilarious animated feature "Madagascar". Sides, back and top are 1/4 birch ply, with 1" strips of 1/4" poplar to give the "crate" look; the ply has been scored with a V-tool on the router-table to give the "built-up" look.
Interior is lined with black felt, and top and bottom painted flat-black, to hide the "modus operandi". The bottom is 1/2" birch ply, as it is not an appearance item.
The box is about 8" square, to match the proportion of a standard #10 "tin can", which would be used along with this prop; it would be placed inside, after showing both box and cylinder empty, and goods are then "magically" produced from the apparatus. A tin-can was chosen for the cylinder as it meets the definition of "recognizable ordinary object".
The face-frame is 1/2" poplar, and the door 3/8". Holes for 3/16" dowels were drilled, then the door laterals were grooved on the TS, with the verticals getting a tongue for assembly.
This will be put up for sale at our local magic shoppe.
Regards, John
These tend to be from the "gaudy box" school of magic, which was rejected by the celebrated 19th century French conjuror Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, in favor of apparatus disguised to look like recognizable, ordinary objects.
This is an attempt to do the same with this classic piece of illusion apparatus:
I decided that an old-fashioned animal cage would do the job, and the style was inspired by the hilarious animated feature "Madagascar". Sides, back and top are 1/4 birch ply, with 1" strips of 1/4" poplar to give the "crate" look; the ply has been scored with a V-tool on the router-table to give the "built-up" look.
Interior is lined with black felt, and top and bottom painted flat-black, to hide the "modus operandi". The bottom is 1/2" birch ply, as it is not an appearance item.
The box is about 8" square, to match the proportion of a standard #10 "tin can", which would be used along with this prop; it would be placed inside, after showing both box and cylinder empty, and goods are then "magically" produced from the apparatus. A tin-can was chosen for the cylinder as it meets the definition of "recognizable ordinary object".
The face-frame is 1/2" poplar, and the door 3/8". Holes for 3/16" dowels were drilled, then the door laterals were grooved on the TS, with the verticals getting a tongue for assembly.
This will be put up for sale at our local magic shoppe.
Regards, John
