This was bought at an auction and given to me. I have a basic idea of how it works but need some help. One of the boxes it has label that says MAK magic but they didn't seem to recognise it.

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Yep, Mak. I saw it in their catalog years ago. The red one with the tiger - 1989. Sorry, don't remember the illusion's name.

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Thanks, that's the most information I've been able to find on it so far. Now If I can find an old Mak catalog maybe I can trace it by the illusion's name.

Yes it was from Mak Magic, it is called the Buddha Tube. It was their version of a sword cabinet, if I recall it appeared on their catalogs only for a short time.
This is only the second one I've seen the other is at Hocus Pocus in the showroom.

Awesome we're narrowing it down, thank you! I've emailed MAK Magic in hopes they might still have the information on the act. It's missing several swords so I'm hoping to remake the full set and put this back on stage.

Mak Magic was great about getting back to me, unfortunately the secrets have been long tucked away and unavailable from the maker. I am starting to wonder if it's worth trying to refurbish. If I could even find a recording of the act it will tell me enough to recreate it but it doesn't look like it was very popular. In my experience often if an act has such a short lifespan there's a reason.

Since 61magic said HP had one, did you try there?

I tried HP and they referred me to Mak. I think I just need to get one of my assistants in it and play around to work it out. There's a couple of hints in the design to help figure it out.

Crispy, this is much like a sword basket and as you said get your assistant in and play around. There isn't much to the working other than good performer/assistant coordination.
I would say this is really more of a collectors item than a performance item, but done with the right presentation it would work.
They are a rare prop and valuable to a Mak collector.

It might be worth your while to contact the owner of this website, to see if he can help you out with instructions. Or at least he might know more about the prop itself. (He might even be interested in buying it, if you decide to sell.)

http://www.magictrickcollection.com/mak-magic-collection/

http://www.magictrickcollection.com/about/

He has quite an extensive MAK Magic Collection.

I think I sold an item or two to him a few years ago.

- Donald

Thanks for the leads, I've emailed the collector hopefully I'll be able to get more information. I'm hesitant to get rid of the prop even if it doesn't make it to the stage, my wife's grandfather gave this to us, he had found it at auction but never put it in his act.

Re the working of it... years ago when I was a teenager just getting into magic, I saw a magician do a sword box with a kid from the audience going in the box. Some years later I got to know the magician and asked them about this and wondered how much preshow prep he had to with the kid. He said he didn't do any... he said if you were a kid in a box and someone started sticking swords in it you'd get out the way if them. And that was how he'd performed it😮I don't recommend this as a way of performing, in fact I think it's positively awful, but it at least let's you know you don't really need instructions to find out the best way to make this work for you and your assistant.

LOL, ya I don't think that type of performance would fly in today's society, one poke and you're sued. The difference on this from other acts of this type I've seen is that it appears three or four of the swords are not like the rest. Don't want to say too much on an open forum though.

Wait...someone bought that beauty at auction and *gave* it to you?
I truly must start sending loved ones out to auctions!