I am planning to purchased couple doves and create a dove act. But my main concern is which one is a good vanishing dove cage that is under $800? It can either be doves to anything, or the kind where the magician covers it with a piece of cloth and bring the cage up and vanish anything.

Any recommendation are appreciated. Thanks!

Edsel,

Edsel, I'm assuming you have done all the proper research on dove magic and can answer yes to these questions.

Have you read or watched several dove magic vids and books
Do you have the time to work with your doves everyday
Do you have the space to properely care for them
Do you have enough places to peform to make dove magic worthwhile

If you can answer yes, then you are ready to purchase some doves. If the answer to any of these questions is NO, then don't buy doves.

As to your question, I'm sure you can find a vanishing dove cage for under $800 however you get what you pay for. If you are serious about doing dove magic, then be prepared to spend over $1000 for a quality prop. You are dealing with live animals and you want to be sure you are protecting them at all times.

Edsel,

For the under $800 range, I recommend the Chalet Doves to Rabbit. It packs flat and can use a Eureka Base. It is also much more versatile than any of the dove cage vanishes. Over the years I have used them in TV commercials, for product placement and even rabbits! I carry three of them with me on the road.

I also have or have had almost all of the vanishing dove cages and do use some. But none are remotely as versatile as the Doves to Rabbit.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Contact Thomas Clark, he's got the right stuff for you

All the advice given has been good but lets do in a different direction. There are quite a few guys doing the vanishing cages again. This happened when Channing first started doing it. At that time, Horace Marshall came up with what he called Dovetania (Dove to Botania). It held up to two doves. Later, Scalzo dropped down to the 25 bloom botania to save a little money. It held one bird. It might be something that would work for you.

Richard

1. Do yourself the BIGGEST favor, don't buy a vanishing dove cage unless you buy a Neilson or Proline. I have owned 3 cages before I bought my Proline cage and they all had problems. The Proline cage never gives ANY problems and is totally worth it.

2. I agree with Bob, for $800, Buy a Doves to Rabbit. You don't need to own a rabbit, you can vanish the doves to a white scharf or balloons that take off into the air.

3. Thomas Clark is another option. He does awesome work for the price. His site is http://www.magicsax.com. He also can fix you up with any harnesses etc.

Good Luck.

Michael

If you really want an inexpensive VANISHING DOVE CAGE look for an old wood chalet. I've used one for years with no problems, and these can be found inexpensively used on ebay and elsewhere.

I agree with all other posters, call Thomas Clark if you want a doves to bunny or blammo. Thomas has made me a doves to bunny, doves to dove, and even a doves to girl cage. He used to be my best kept secret but his work got a reputation fast!

Steven

Thanks for everyone's input!

Is Magicsax or Chalet is better?

Also regarding Chalet, on their website http://www.chaletstephens.com/ they only have e-mail, if I am interested in purchasing through them, do I just e-mail them or?

Thanks a bunch in advance.

Edsel,

Your much better off ordering from Thomas at Magicsax. Do a search here on the Café about chalet and you'll know exactly why. Magic sax props are better in my opinion, especially because you'll actually get your prop in a timely manner.

Thomas will get you your prop very quickly and communicate with you, sending you pics while he builds the prop for you the whole time.

Chalet is a whole different story. People have waited years for props from chalet and not gotten them, even after paying for them upfront. I have owned both models so I am qualified to tell you for a fact that Thomas Clarks props are better made, better materials and work better all around. His props are beautifully to look at,Especially some of his latest models. I have one of his earliest Doves to Bunnys which still works great after years, I have used it in just about every non close up performance I have ever done. In short, I REALLY got my moneys worth from that prop. Still, I like his new models asthetically enough that I will order one soon. His prices are better also!

Thomas has also built some larger illusions for me recently from my own designs and ideas.He really worked with me to insure they would be just fantastic when constructed. I can't stress enough how impressed I was with the finished props.

I won't let anyone else build props for us because I'm very particular about props, but his work is just top notch all the way. I trust no one else when it comes to props, especially with my own designs and ideas. I know I can just send him some drawings and ideas, he takes it from there and just does amazing work.

I will continue to use him exclusively to build anything I need. He's actually got a few larger projects for us in the pipeline. I can't wait to see some of the latest as I have seen pics lately that blew me away of what he's working on for me now. I really can't wait to get the new pieces he's working on. They will be used in our new and improved show.

Steven

P.S. I meant in my previous post thomas has built me a doves to rabbit, doves to DOG and doves to girl cage. A doves to dove cage wouldn't be very exciting would it?
:)

Hi Haywire,

Thanks for your reply and descriptive feedbacks. I am pretty sure I will go with Magicsax. One concern though, would there be something to support the cage and is it easy to travel with it? I would also like it to fit at least five doves inside.

On the other hand, I came across this, the first one from this link, what do you think about that?

http://themagicwarehouse.com/tdove2.html

Thanks a bunch in advance!

Edsel,

Your better off contacting Thomas to answer your questions but he can build a cage to fit any amount of doves you require. Support the cage? do you mean a stand? he can put a flange on it so you can use any table or stand you already have, or he can build you one if required.

Email or call him, that's your best bet.

This link you provided is to a vastly inferior prop that is made of plastic I believe, these can crack easily and fall apart with traveling. I have traveled with my d2b cage from thomas for years with no problems. All solid wood
construction.

Like I said your best bet is to call or email him for more details. I can only tell you so much having owned many props he made for us. Your better off talking directly to him.

Good luck with your quest. I'm sure you'll be happy if you go with something Thomas builds, I can definitely not say the same for chalet or this item you provided a link to. Ask around, anyone who has gotten one of his products will
certainly agree with me.

Steven

Steven,

Thank you very much for your help and I really appreciate it.

I will keep you posted and let you know how everything is when I got my product:)

Edsel,

You can't go wrong with Thomas Clark's product. His customer services is top notch too. Highly recommended.

Ken

Excellent! I think I am going to order one soon!

Thanks everyone!

Edsel,

Check out Smokey Mountain Magic, Dan Wolff. I think he's working on a new version of the doves to rabbit. This guy is awsome.

I must be the only one who had a bad experience with Thomas' product. I purchased a Dove to Rabbit on e-bay. It looked very attractive, but was very cheaply made. The corner brass fittings came already off the box. The effect soon fell apart and I just ended up trashing it.

However, based on the responses here and in other places, my situation may very well have been one of those situations that doesn't happen very often. I have heard many people on the Café speak very highly of him, which indicates that most of his work must be of higher quality than what I received.

Well, Revmike, sorry you had a 'bad experience' with my products. I guess you could have contacted me and it could have been resolved very simply (or maybe you did, and I just don't remember - Weren't you the one where the package arrived damaged from the postal service? Just curious) I don't use brass corner brackets any longer, and only aluminum trimming which solves the problem on that issue. Cheaply made, huh? Sorry you felt that way. How long ago was that? I have people who have had my products for years and still going strong. Again, sorry if you felt the way you did about it. No one is perfect (well, there was one, but they crucified him) , and mistakes can happen. Anyhow, I apologize if you got a sub-standard piece.

-Thomas Clark

I've never had anything but good experiences from Thomas, and I have bought many many items from him. The first piece I bought was a doves to bunny, and that I bought off ebay also.

Thomas customer service and communication is excellent. You should have contacted him at the time and I'm sure he would have made good on any problems.

Steven

Thomas is the MAN!

Bairefoot

RevMike, you said you purchased this through Ebay. Are you sure it wasn't damaged by the owner of the piece? How long did he have the item before he sold it. Nothing stays new forever but I can vouch for Thomas and his customer service. He painstakenly makes each item by hand to your specifications, wraps each piece in bubble wrap to protect it and follows up on all of his shipments.

I've found his customer service as well as his products are far superior to many and goes out of his way to make things right if there are any problems.