I though I would share with you a sneak peek at some of the items from my workshop that I have made over the last two years.

Below is a link to the photograph of these items.

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa120......c866.jpg

The large engraved tile is brand new and called Bill Montana's Three Psychic Words and yur the fisrt people to see it. So new in fact the finish is not yet completely dry. The other two items with the dice were also made within the last week.

Quick note on the above three items and the finish used was a 60/40 mix varnish and lacquer thinner. This finish works great for items on wood ply since there is no need for stain as the finish gives the wood a bit of color while bringing out the natural grain. The finish is brushed or wiped on and allowed to sit for a few moments then wiped off and allowed to dry before another coat is applied. The process is repeated many many times. The best thing about this finish is it works great and is super easy to apply.

The white item is engraved on ceramic tile and is a number prediction forcing effect called simply enough The Tile.

There are some other miscellaneous items shown on the table as well. The wooden solid oak tube shown to the back left has box joints on all four side and is very strong so strong in fact you can stand on it and it will not break. The new version of this item will have the 60/40 varnish finish.

Well that's it for this peek inside my workshop. If you have any questions about the tools it took or the process to create these effect feel free to drop me a line.

Bill

Really nice work, Bill. Is The Tile anything like Koran's medallion?

Those look great Bill! Does the tube go on the base on the left?

Bill, I'm also interested in the white tile (The Tile) effect. Can you tell me more? The web site for Quality Magic Sales shows it but says it's out of stock, doesn't give a description of the effect or how much it is.

Mark.

http://www.stevensmagic.com/shop/the-tile-bill-montanta/

Ahhh...Thank you the Sponge. I probably should have tried looking just a little bit harder!!

Mark.

Thanks guys glad you like the work.

The tile principle is based on a very old number forcing algorithm or process which I re did so it works, it will always force the same number. Several versions of this process appear in the bucket list book publishers magic books circa 1880-1910. Some of which illustrate a tile with numbers in the wrong place. Which is a big problem! The other think about the tile is you can use dry erase markers or standard sharipe as either can be cleaned off.

Wiz, no that wooden tube is something I call the tunnel and is shown in the photo without the accompanying string. Its a based off a knot vanish trick that Will Dexter created or published (not sure if its his as it appears in several publications around the same time circa 1950) using a match box as an explanatory teaching aid with a string for magicians in an attempt to explain one of the primary principle behind vanishing knots. I only made a couple of those and used one of them in a lecture I did on vanishing knots some years back. The problem was that it made such a great vanishing knot I had to make it in a high end version for my own personal taste. Surprisingly it seemed more deceptive in wood version than the paper match box. Not to mention looked better.

Later today I going to post a link to a varnish sample so you can see how much it colors the wood with out stain.

Bill, can you tell us about your Three Psychic Words effect? That's also a really nice looking prop. When might it become available and do you know how much it will go for?

Mark.

I can vouch for Bill's quality he takes the simple and makes it exquisite. I own one of his spirit slates, it looks wonderful and works perfect.

Thanks for the insight on the tube, but what is the cool looking base used for?

That’s for something I called the Pin of Pain. Its the base with the natural cork insert. BTW cork is getting rare the trees are being cut down in larger numbers. Basiclly it is this-instead of sticking a pin into a persons table then smacking it with your hand you bring out a pair of these one for you and one for the other person. Its a base for an effect created by Scarne during the 1950s that no one does anymore. It seems only old timers have even seen it in action. Its such a great thing but sticking a metal pin in a persons dining room tables surface, is a bit rude. Sticking a pin under is oaky to do a little cheating but the surface is out of the question. Under the table device is called The Blackleg Bug. Its a new version of a gamblers bug that’s a lot lot smaller. For more on the bug see SME in about a week or so. The Bug is used to hold a card that can be added to your stack later. Here is a quick example you know all of those packet effects that show four cards but you really have five cards. With a bug you can have the four cards examined then by sliding them off the table add the fifth without anyone knowing which makes the effect stronger. Often I hear this a lot form magicians-"How did you do that with only four cards?"

I love the finger joints in that wood tube.

Do you use a laser to engrave the wood or a wood burner?

I'm using a 10" by 20" 80w laser cutter engraver machine. It would take far too long to use a hand burner and would never look as clean.

Warning: Do not try to cut finger joints that small on your table saw at home. It can be very dangerous. I used a custom built jig if I remember correctly when I built the one in the photo. The Tunnel measures 1 1/8" by 7/8" by 3 3/8" and has about 14 fingers per side. The second one was laser cut and was a lot safer and faster. It still took sometime but its much safer. The unit was made from solid oak that is an 3/16" thick. The problem when using a table saw is a clamping issue sine one of the sides is very small and less than an inch. Most calmps will not hold it out of the way of the blade. The clamps will be in the way. Hand holding is not safe at all that's why I made the jig for the first one. I do not like my fingers that close to any blade to mush can go wrong.