SpellbinderEntertainment, makeupguy, and others, you OWE TravisNye another PUBLIC and private apology for your stupid comments. You have not seen or floated his table, and calling it crap from one photo says a lot about who you are inside.

I HAVE the plans for this table (Vandoren's book) . It's lighter than Losanders. It looks like a regular table, which is important. It also looks heavier, which is important.

Also, the wording of Vandoren's book on the origins of the floating table sounds suspiciously like my wording from my web site in 2007. Maybe he researched it himself, I don't know, but he didn't ask me. I don't believe Vandoren asked permission from Vladimir Mikek either . . . and he doesn't sell the book as an ebook because he "doesn't want it to be stolen" (according to a phone conversation I had with Vandoren). I thought that was pretty funny!

Note: While I think Vandoren's plans make a nice table, I do not use them myself. Yes, I think the legs could be wider, but that is a trade-off for weight.

Wow. Thank you KC. It seems clear now.

Doug

Just a note, Losander did put out a DVD - to get more business. He does fix tables and has a trade in policy. Unless it changed, he offers $500 off a new table with a trade in of another brand. I would get the $75 plastic one made in China and save myself $425 if I wanted to buy a Losander table - he still makes a ton of profit.

His latest table is a 3 legged. I came up with that idea (and documented it on the Café) in 2007-8. I was chastised because it looked like a stool . . . now Losander uses that idea and it is great?? *L*

He sells it for $1500. I can make what he did for less than $100 - that is materials and labor of a professional finish carpenter. I think anyone could be real nice for that type of profit. When you say you get what you pay for . . . I would say HE got what YOU paid for. But, if you are happy to pay for it, whom am I to complain?

You make a lot of sense, KC. I never knew this. I'm sure I speak for many, when I say I appreciate another view on this. I was rather unrighteously indignant due to the number of rip-offs and knock-offs today. This puts me in my place. Sometimes a light has to be shown directly on the issue. I'm glad ya spoke up, KC!

Doug

Well I am new to this, I saw Losanders Table on Magic Geeks (when it was still around) and fell in love with it. I became aquainted with it on Losanders site and purchased the original table. I am working hard on the routine now before rolling it out. It is ingenious and admire him for his creation and feel compelled to give him props for his original creation. I think it is important to give credit of those that came before us for what they have created and especially that they share it with others. It is a quality product and think it is a fair price to pay. In any case I very much would like to see other routines and how others perform. Do you use music in your routine?

Um, I'm in a daze after reading all of this. I know the thread is old, but a friend of mine bought his daughter a floating table off of Amazon. I was skeptical, but ate crow because the quality is as good as what Losander sells. But it cam with no instructions.

DIY is a good way to learn making things. If you're interesting in improving your design it might help to start with similar proportions to a baseline object in our shared world - like this: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ravel-Premium......41223749
Selling a version of someone else's signature and market item is not the nicest way to learn about magic market ethics.

I buy Magic products and do not make my own props. What I have done is modify a prop that I have purchased if I can improve it for my own use.
I recommend buying from the original creator.

Harry Anderson performed a floating table, either an Owen or early Abbot on carson twent years ago. It wasn't new then.
He also used it as a side table in his giant car effect, a nice convincer you can't do with thouse candle stand tables. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8Px7MPg9Wc
Orman McGill did a floating dining table, and it was expsed in a national magazine before WW II(the big one).
BTY Nice table Travis.

I just went thru this thread and am surprised at the comments, pro and con, about basically copying Losander's table. Ethics, legality, "it's been done before," blah blah blah.

Sorry, folks, but to me, and to most of us in design-related professions, copying someone else's work is just plain laziness. Back in school it would not have been tolerated, either by professors or by our peers. And when I started working in design, I would not have tolerated someone on my team doing it. That's not what we were paying them for.

I've thought many times about making a floating table, but it would not have looked anything like Losander's, and I would have spoken to friends who own one to make sure I understood Dirk's working so I could come up with something different. It's not so much "ethics" as it is wanting to do better than the last guy.