I have heard of many who approach school shop classes to build illusions. How do you go about doing this and keeping as much secrecy as possible? I am taking vocational classes next term in woodworking. Has anyone here been able to get help from classes like these?

I have had props made in schools from time to time. In here (Finland that is) one can have things made for the cost of the materials only. I arranged a meeting with the woodshop teacher, explaining the secret nature of the project. We made a deal that different parts of a given prop were made in different classes by different people. Like in my assistant’s revenge, the gimmicked part was built but not assembled (not even hinges) and the base and roof sections were made separately. Then I just finished the illusion myself. The teacher was very helpful in breaking the blueprints into sections for me. My Wakeling sawing was made in two different schools, or actually two different units of the same school. Again the helpful teacher had his fingers on this.

If you’re taking classes in woodworking, you just have to check whether you can make a project of your own or is there a mandatory thing to do (when I took woodworking as extra credit in high school, we were forced to make a chair.)

You just have to contact a school and check whether they do subcontract work or in general outside projects.

I believe, that you can negotiate a deal like I did that the true nature of the props remains a secret.

Best of luck!

:sawingchick: