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Gary T. Veteran user 375 Posts |
If there's one thing I've noticed so far working at only two festivals it's that I have issues getting/keeping my table level. the first one I went to I wasn't anticipating the problem and I ended up cutting off a few pieces of rope to shove under the legs of my table, and the second one I meant to take some cardboard with me but it slipped my mind so I grabbed a few sugar packets from a gas station on the way, but in both instances I had trouble with my table getting bumped and having to re-set it all... I'm using a Tv tray, something like this. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B2oVIOC61kM/Td......Tray.jpg anybody got any suggestions on what to use to get/keep it level?
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Ekuth Inner circle Floating above my 1538 Posts |
Either scrap it and go with a Harbin style or one using a tripod base design. Harbins (properly constructed) can be incredibly stable; as can the tripod designs (because you can individually adjust each leg).
Failing that, you could try those rubber covers for the ends of chair legs, crutch tips, inserting a threaded bolt (ala the way you level a washing machine), or cut leg 'extensions' with holes for raising/lowering each leg. So.... six of one, half a dozen of another- there's many solutions you could try. Heck, I've seen folks carry a set of four small beanbags for exactly that purpose. Were it me, I would construct a Harbin folding style tailored to your individual height. Your table should come to *just* above your belt-line- you shouldn't have to stoop to work and the audience should be able to see the top. Especially little children- they can often have trouble seeing the top. I've also seen many folding tables successfully converted for busking; one thing, no matter what you decide to do- make sure you include a servante for ditching/lapping/loading. It should hang off the back of the table and be roughly at the same level as your hands are when they hang by your sides. Remember, you want to be able to ditch/load from the servante with as little arm/hand motion as possible. Being, of course, that everyone is different sizes, you'll have to play around with the measurments until you get it right for you and for your audience. Small compromises here and there will be necessary. There's tons of threads in the "Workshop" section of the forums on tables, do some research and I'm sure you'll find something you like! Good luck out there!
"All you need is in Fitzkee."
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Gary T. Veteran user 375 Posts |
Thanks, I'm gonna do some research and build my own table. I considered screwing some sort of rubber piece to the leg that I could twist in and out to level it, but the table I'm using right now is my uncles, and while I can use it as long as I want I don't think I should be making modifications to it lol, I'll look into some Harbin style table designs, thanks for the advice.
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Ekuth Inner circle Floating above my 1538 Posts |
Anytime, Gary. Welcome to the first step on your road to table addiction... let's see, I have... 5 now? That doesn't count my matched side table set complete with BA wells and Victorian color scheme/fringe, either.
"Hi, I'm Christophe' and I'm a table-holic..." "Hi Christophe'..." If you need a good graphic for the Harbin style type, shoot me a PM with your email. I've got a couple of diagrams kicking around that could save you some time.
"All you need is in Fitzkee."
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Ray Bertrand Inner circle Ottawa, Ontario 1452 Posts |
[quote]On 2012-10-17 00:10, Ekuth wrote:
"Hi, I'm Christophe' and I'm a table-holic..." "Hi Christophe'..." Christophe' You must go to 90 meetings in 90 days and don't buy or build another table between meetings. Ray
Mentalism in Ontario.
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Ekuth Inner circle Floating above my 1538 Posts |
{camera fades in on wild haired man in straightjacket. His eyes are red-rimmed and he trembles}
"But... but... I gotta have my table, man!" {camera cuts to doctor, ticking off checkmarks on an impression pad} "Now, now, Mr. Davis- you're a very sick man. We'll help you get better..." {cut to prisoner, look of terror on his face} "You... you can't do this to me!" {fade to exterior of cell. Doctor is shaking his head ruefully at a nurse} "I'm afraid it's a terminal case, nurse. Have him taken to the spongeballbunny detox room... at least he can't hurt himself there." {Nurse looks shocked} "But doctor! To force a magician to work from his pockets... that's... inhuman!" {Doctor pushes his glasses up to the bridge of nose and looks at nurse sternly} "We're here to help these people, Nurse; not coddle them. He'll adapt... or become a crate slug."
"All you need is in Fitzkee."
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gman Special user Lancaster, pa 751 Posts |
Ah Ekuth...I see you met my doctor!!
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tboehnlein Inner circle ohio 1787 Posts |
One other thing if that is the table your using you may want to look for a taller table, that size table does not allow for good posture while working which will take a toll quickly on your back. Unless of course your very short.
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DoctorCognos Elite user 413 Posts |
Good point on table height...
You want to have one that your audience can see, you can see easily, without bending, and keep your audience eye contact. I have seen performers of all ilks, buskers, close up, others, who stare down at their table constantlly while performing. And at that point, their entire audience could walk away and they would never know it. Make sure you can, and do, keep good eye contact with you audience. I have two tables, a custom table built from a portable voting booth. Portable, and totally self contained. I have a very nice cushy close up pad that comes our of it and goes on top. It has a shelf, and complete drape around it. All of which stores in easily in it with four 10" rings, cereal Killer, coloring book, 10 decks of cards, stiff rope, fast and loose chain, coins, and a few toher things I can't think of right now. But case isn't thick enough to house my cups, so I don't do cups and balls on it. That table height, think portable voting booth, was a little too high for performing and I cut the legs about 4-5 inches. Works great for me. My other "table" has a top made from a peice of 1/4" plywood, with a black picture frame, and an insert of a sheet of black indoor/outdoor short pile carpet. The surface works great for cups, coins and cards. The back of the plywood has a sign, "Amazing Magic, See The Show whereever I stop!" So when I can carrying it, I am advertising too. Got that idea from Jim Cellini. I sit it on a black aluminum keyboard stand which is adjustable. This is perfect for cups and balls ala Gazzo. I can even hand my Gazzo pouch on the top arms of the keyboard stand when not using it. If I am traveling by car, I take both tables. If public transportation, I decide... Cups and Balls, or not. The Doctor
The Doctor Knows.....
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JoeJoe Inner circle Myrtle Beach 1915 Posts |
Mine is never level ... I grab both ends and wiggle it around a little to get it somewhat level so it doesn't bounce around while performing. I tend to do this several times during the routine, making a "show" of it.
Often, I pull the table back a foot or so and then do it ... doing this a couple times during the show, and each time my edge grows. -Joe
Amazing JoeJoe on YouTube[url=https://www.youtube.com/user/AmazingJoeJoe]
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Ekuth Inner circle Floating above my 1538 Posts |
Smart, JoeJoe. I do the same but in reverse to pull the sides of the crowd in closer (move the table, that is).
"All you need is in Fitzkee."
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Gary T. Veteran user 375 Posts |
JoeJoe, how exactly does that work? like I'm sure that works, but what makes that work? anyway my biggest problem is the cups I use are Aluminum, so they're fairly light, and it's more than just getting the table stable, if it's slanted at all and I tip my cups over they tend to roll to one side, it's a real pain, anyway the table height thing probably explains why my back was hurting after the last time I was out, Ekuth I'm gonna go ahead and message you with my email to get those diagrams
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Gary T. Veteran user 375 Posts |
Ohhh, ignore the question in that last post, I think I understand now
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Nick W Special user 515 Posts |
Duct tape a few folded playing cards under the lets.
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EVILDAN Inner circle 1279 Posts |
I think some simple math might be at play here. Again, I think. I'm not a math major.
The table you have is relatively short width-wise. So, any deviation that you have in it not being level increases the proportion of the pitch. If you had a longer table the proportion of the pitch is played out over a longer distance, is not as noticable, and is more easily fixed. Think of it as a handicap ramp. The standard pitch for it is one inch in height for every foot in length. That means if you have to go up a height of 36 inches then your ramp has to be, at a minimum, 36 feet long. If you make it longer and set the pitch to one inch every 18 inches, then it's easier to roll up in a wheelchair. If you cheat it and make it 1 inch every 9 inches, then the angle is steeper and it makes it more difficult to roll up in a wheelchair. My table is 4 feet wide. I made it out of a piece of good 1/2" plywood. I covered it with cloth then created a wood frame around it with some maple wood and secured it to the bottom of the table with wood blocks. This is so that I can take it apart from time to time to change the covering. I set this all on a metal organ stand which is available from your music shop for about $20.00 or so. I also carry two black bandanas with me to tie around the tops of the organ stand in case I need to shim it to make it more level. To test, I get the table in position, then place one of the balls from my cup set on various parts of the table to see if it will roll. One other option to decrease the amount of roll is to cover your table with a cloth that has some type of nap to it where objects placed on top can sink in a bit. I personally don't use this. I prefer a smooth cotton surface.
by EVILDAN....
"The Coin Board Book" - moves and routines with the coin panel board. - http://www.lybrary.com/the-coin-board-book-p-827955.html "SLASHER - A Horror Whodunnit" - a bizarre close-up routine based on Bob Neale's "Sole Survivor." PM me for more info. "Zombie Town" - a packet effect about how a small town turned into zombies. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nzJhcoJtyOM |
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bwarren3 Special user 518 Posts |
Gary,
Go find you a waiter's stand, probably less than $30, then make a table top to fit, the outer edges should fit right on top of the rubber pieces that come with the stand. Your table problems are now fixed. My advice on the cups is get rid of the aluminium cups and invest in some really good cups like babes from gazzo or his new Devil street cups, they are heavier which you really need to have to do a good cups routine, you need to focus on the entertainment not worrying about which cup is going to fall over next... You're not talking about investing a whole lot of money here but these small improvements will increase your show by 10 times ..... Good Luck.. bill |
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Devious Inner circle 2120 Posts |
Here are is an example of what Bill Warren is talking about.
In my table below, I use a standard server's tray, that I've covered with satin. It serves as my closeup pad. In addition, I use a change bag as my servant. Notice the bunjee cords which hold down items. It's very windy along the bayfront and even heavy items like cups can get blown over. My wands are held in place by the rubber bands around the table. The bunjee cords hold my tray to the table when I foldup to move on. The below table is a common foldup table, like Cellini used. My closeup case on the ground is my ditch area. A little screw on the front allows me to hang my sign by way of an eye loop screw mounted on top of the sign. In the closeup case you can see many yellow rectangle items. I make my own Money Bhudda Papers which I pitch after my show to increase my hats. I perform the effect during my show as a way to introduce a hat line. It becomes a running gag, so folks want to take one home. For a ten dollar "donation" folks get one FREE. P.s. I sometimes also use the papers to level my table (wink). |
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Gary T. Veteran user 375 Posts |
Wow Devious, you've put A LOT of thought into your table huh? I can't pretend I'm not a little jealous of such a nice set up, but is that the Criss Angel card back on your Money Bhudda Papers? and Criss Angel cards on your table? or am I missing something? like if they are then cool, I love the look of the design itself but I don't understand the purpose of them there... also don't they kind of advertise Criss Angels website in the center? but like I said I might be missing something.
oh and bwarren3 I actually really like my aluminum cups haha, surely they're not as nice as the more expencive sets, but I like them and they're not expencive, I should clarify, I don't have problems with the cups falling over or getting knocked over, when they're sitting flat they're fine, it's just the one bit in my routine where they end up on their side, if the table is slanted too much they will roll a little bit, I'm sure this would be eliminated by heavier cups but so long as I get my table fairly level it's not a problem anyway, if/when these ever wear out on me I might look into a more expencive set, but until then I'm alright with what I have |
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Devious Inner circle 2120 Posts |
My papers are made of aged parchment paper not the bright neon colors. Only the packaging is bright.
I'm a friend of Criss'. When they purchase the papers, I throw in a plug for his magic shoppe. I don't mind. It also makes the papers look just a bit cooler, if you will. My contact information is on the reverse of the playing cards, they always keep it and it gets me future private gigs. |
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Gary T. Veteran user 375 Posts |
Oh, okay then now it makes a lot more sense.
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