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DIY, Makers & Builders in Magic & Conjuring

Naturally magicians are good with their hands. This often means they are very good with building and making things. There is a long tradition of magicians building their own props and gimmicks.

In this topic we list products where you will need to roll up your sleeves, prepare your tools, and make something.

related topics: Illusions, Escape & Stage

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Dustin Marks
103 Tips and Resources for Magicians by Dustin Marks

This ebook will save you time and money. It is a quick read and has tips you have not seen. Good resources for professionals and lots of information for beginners. Learn how to use Siri or Alexa for practice. Use Notion to keep a database of your tricks. Learn magic principles, magic utilities, memory tips, links to everyday props on Amazon and more. It's a great reference book to all things magic.

  • Tip #2 Learn the secret to never forget a good idea you have.
  • Tip #7 Learn which database to keep track of your routines and effects.
  • Tips 8, 9 and 10. Learn tricks on how to remember your...
★★★★ $4.95
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PDF

Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph
13 Cards by Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph

This package includes the templates and photos of 13 incredible 'impossible' cards. There are no instructions of how to fold the cards. For each card you get the template of how to cut the card as a PDF, and a photo of how the folded card looks like. We are assuming you know how to fold these cards. If you do not know check out Ralf Rudolph's various impossible folding videos. One that will get you started is Impossible Foldings Volume 2 (Part 1)

The 13 cards are:

  • 2-Framed
  • 3-Link
  • 3-Framed
  • 4-Linked
  • Arachnophobia
  • Card Sculpture
  • Hexagon
  • Rounded P-Link
  • Square Knot
  • Star Card
  • Tri-Clops
  • Two Swirled
  • Wave

1st edition...

★★★★★ $10
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PDF

Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph
22 Impossible Cards by Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph

This is a collection of 22 impossible cards created by Ralf Rudolph. For each card you will get a photo of the finished (cut and folded) card, as well as a template to make the necessary cuts. You will NOT get the folding instructions. This means you have to be familiar with the basic folds to create impossible cards. A good place to start is Complete Guide to Impossible Foldings.

The cards included in this collection are:

  1. 2 Framed Card
  2. 3 Framed Card
  3. 4 Way Trapdoor Card
  4. Celtic Knot
  5. Circlo Cross
  6. Clover Circle
  7. Criss Cross Link
  8. Heart Henge
  9. Hex Box
  10. Latice
  11. Opti Knot
  12. Ribbon
  13. Rounded Link
  14. Simply Squared
  15. Square Knot ...
★★★★★ $12
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PDF

Chris Wasshuber
52 Standard American Card Faces by Chris Wasshuber

You will receive 52 vector graphic files in SVG and EPS (encapsulated post script) format. Each file holds the design of a face of a card from a standard deck of cards. These faces are for example used in Bicycle cards from USPCC, but can be found in many other brands and non-brand decks. All cards from Ace to King in all four colors, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades are represented. There are no jokers and no backs included.

Each card is a vector graphic and can therefore be altered and modified in any way you like without loss of quality. You will need a vector graphic tool like the free...

★★★★ $15
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SVG

Ulysses Frederick Grant
A Table Lamp Floats by Ulysses Frederick Grant

This is included in Grant's Lost Illusion Secrets.

At last, anyone can own a floating lamp. You can have one right in your living room or den with no special lamp to buy. Yes, one of the lamps sitting around your home now can be made into a floating lamp for a few dollars.

EFFECT: Spectators see an ordinary lamp sitting on a table. You produce a covering cloth and place it over the lamp. The lamp then seems to float right up into space, high over their heads or down near the floor in a very strange manner. After its flight, it glides back to the table and once again comes to rest. This is actually what they see,...

★★★★ $2
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PDF

Hank Morfin
Any Ring PK Gimmick by Hank Morfin

The PK ring is a very versatile gimmick for the magician and particularly for the mentalist. However, most commercially available PK rings look like wedding bands. What if you're not married? What if you like to wear other style of rings? What if you want to remove the PK-ness of the ring?

Hank wanted to be able to make any ring a PK ring. He wanted something that you could always have on you and could "load" & "ditch" very quickly and easily. Hank created just that and gives you in this ebook detailed instructions of how to build this gimmick for yourself. All parts are easily and cheaply...

★★★★ $7.95
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PDF

Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph
Arrow Through Bottle and Coin by Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph

Learn to make two impossible objects without glue or other bonding agents. You can hand it out for examination. No joint or slit will be visible, because there is none. No glue or hidden cuts or anything like that. Have a wooden arrow pass through a Chinese coin with a hole or a bottle with a hole.

1st edition 2017, 15 minutes

★★★★★ $8
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MP4 (video)

Koo Hu
Artifact by Koo Hu

A unique suspension of 1 and 1/2 cards that can be installed anywhere and serves as a great conversation starter. There is absolutely nothing attached to it left, right, up, or down, all around. Make it look regal by placing a glass bowl on top completely isolating it and letting the conversations begin.

1st edition 2024, video 5:13.

★★★★★ $4.95
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MP4 (video)

Greg McMahan
Backdrop Designs for Pennies by Greg McMahan

Backdrops add so much to a show, but they can also subtract so much from your wallet. Here's a great resource for building inexpensive backdrops for as low as $30!

A good backdrop can really kick things up on a notch on attaining that professional look. Yet, they don't have to be expensive. Using materials you can find just about anywhere, even around the house, you can make your own backdrop for less than $30.

Many different types of backdrop systems are shown, and the pros and cons of each one discussed. There is a lot of information in these notes... extremely helpful if you want to...

★★★★ $20
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PDF

Ian Baxter
BIRT: Baxter's Indian Rope Trick by Ian Baxter

A lovely print-and-perform trick.

Who in magic, beginner or expert, has not purchased, watched, or performed that perennial "Gone To Lunch" or as it is sometimes called, "The Indian Rope Trick"? This magic shop favourite has been making the rounds for decades and is still a consistent best-seller for dealers all over the world.

Would you believe, Australian card man Ian Baxter has for years been performing his own version that tops the original? Baxter put this together back in the 1990's and sold it through limited dealerships. Yes, the 'Gone To Lunch' theme is fully intact, but there...

★★★★★ $8
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PDF

Lybrary.com
Blank Playing Card Cardboard (10 Sheets) by Lybrary.com

This is highest quality blank playing card cardboard that has a smooth surface. This cardboard has the same thickness, snap, look and feel as cardboard used for casino grade playing cards.

We are the only retailer in the world that is offering this type of cardboard in small quantities. It is the perfect material to print your own gaffed cards, marked cards, game cards or branded cards. Now even the individual magician, game designer or playing card designer can print his own deck of cards.

The size of each sheet is A4 (210 mm x 297 mm) - a tiny bit longer and narrower than the US letter...

$25
currently
unavailable

Lybrary.com
Blank Playing Card Cardboard (20 Sheets) by Lybrary.com

This is highest quality blank playing card cardboard that has a smooth surface. This cardboard has the same thickness, snap, look and feel as cardboard used for casino grade playing cards.

We are the only retailer in the world that is offering this type of cardboard in small quantities. It is the perfect material to print your own gaffed cards, marked cards, game cards or branded cards. Now even the individual magician, game designer or playing card designer can print his own deck of cards.

The size of each sheet is A4 (210 mm x 297 mm) - a tiny bit longer and narrower than the US letter...

$39.50
currently
unavailable

Lybrary.com
Blank Playing Card Cardboard (40 Sheets) by Lybrary.com

This is highest quality blank playing card cardboard that has a smooth surface. This cardboard has the same thickness, snap, look and feel as cardboard used for casino grade playing cards.

We are the only retailer in the world that is offering this type of cardboard in small quantities. It is the perfect material to print your own gaffed cards, marked cards, game cards or branded cards. Now even the individual magician, game designer or playing card designer can print his own deck of cards.

The size of each sheet is A4 (210 mm x 297 mm) - a tiny bit longer and narrower than the US letter...

$59.50
currently
unavailable

Shawn Evans
Build Your Own Psychic Calculator by Shawn Evans

Do-It-Yourself: "Trick-Out" Your Calculator

With a Psychic Calculator you can create endless mind-reading, prediction, and magic effects - a mentalist dream come true.

Don't pay up to $300 or more for a Mentalist or Psychic Calculator when you can make your own in less than 30 minutes, for under $10 (including the price of the calculator!), plus the use of just a few common household items. No knowledge of electronics needed - just the proper know-how.

This ebook will give you the "details in detail" with over 20 step-by-step photos and illustrations that will guarantee your success. ...

★★★★★ $19.95
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PDF

Mark Stone
Coin Ditcher Gimmick: for vanishing coins by Mark Stone

Based on an old concept that has been seriously rethought to create a simple and practical device; it allows for complete vanishing of coin gaffs and regular coins of any size up to jumbo 3" coins.

  • Coins can be made to reappear after being vanished.
  • No jacket, cummerbund or long-sleeved shirt is required.
  • The Coin Ditcher is made using readily available, low-cost materials. It requires light metal cutting using a hacksaw or angle grinder. Once made it should last a lifetime.
  • Includes 71 pages of easy-to-follow, step-by-step crystal clear photos and instructions on how to make and correctly...
★★★★ $15
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PDF

Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph
Complete Guide to Impossible Foldings by Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph

In this video you will learn folding techniques on how to make your own impossible folded cards and banknotes.

[Note: This compilation overlaps with Ralf Rudolph's earlier series of impossible foldings (1-6). There are some new things here and not everything from the six volumes is taught here, but there is a good amount of overlap.]

You will learn:

  • Trabdoor Fold
  • Trabdoor "E" Fold
  • "V" Fold
  • Inside-out Banknote Variation
  • Real Impossible Fold
  • Braided Banknotes
  • Hypercards
  • Shrinking Banknote
  • Linking Cards
  • and more...
Learn to make the perfect souvenir. Make some great impossible objects out of normal playing cards and even borrowed banknotes.

1st edition 2016, length 1 hour 24 min.

...

★★★★ $7
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MP4 (video)

Mark Stone
Cosmar Coin Gimmick by Mark Stone

Utility holder/vanisher

Step-­by-­step explanation with detailed photos on how to build and use this practical coin utility device (two-­gimmick set).

Each gimmick allows for secretly holding, retrieving, producing or vanishing five half-­dollar coins or four dollar-­size coins or for producing one or two 3" size coins. If used with palming coins, the gimmick will hold double the number of coins.

With easy-­to-­follow visual instructions and readily available low-­cost materials, this 47-­page ebook shows how the gimmicks can be made in minutes. Includes directions for proper...

★★★★★ $15
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PDF

Dave Arch
Craft Store Conjuring by Dave Arch

In the absence of a brick-and-mortar magic store in your area, you no doubt already have discovered the inspirational riches for the magician that exist within the walls of a Hobby Lobby.

From 2019 to 2023 Dave Arch authored a column in the IBM's Linking Ring magazine sharing one of his ideas each month. This ebook is now a compilation of those columns as well as enough extras to bring the total to 90+ different ideas from nearly every section of the store and every magic genre.

  • Hypno Gum
  • Hypno Stick
  • Headline Prediction
  • Step Right Up!
  • She Loves Me ... She Loves Me Not
  • Mental Epic ...
★★★ $20
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PDF

Chris Wasshuber
Crymp: the RFID-blocking Origami Wallet with Closure by Chris Wasshuber

Crymp is an origami wallet (no gluing or sewing) that you can fold in a matter of a few minutes. With some practice, one can do it in under a minute. The unique feature of the wallet is that it has a closure. A specially designed plastic piece, roughly the size of a credit card, is inserted in such a way that it locks in place so that it cannot fall out or be pulled out during normal usage. It allows a rubber band to be semi-permanently linked to the wallet. This makes opening and closing the wallet very easy because the rubber band can't be lost. One can let go of it and it remains attached...

$29.90
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gadget & PDF

Ken Allen
Do-It-Yourself Book by Ken Allen

Dealer-quality magic effects, props, hacks, and upgrades you can make at home.

This ebook was clearly ahead of its time, as the effects are classic and timeless. There's something in it for every magician. One effect, "A Stunning Transposition", if sold by itself at a dealer, would sell for twice what the entire book sells for. Even if you're all thumbs, the author's clear descriptions and illustrations make it easy to craft amazing effects, props, and utility items that you'll be proud to use and amaze with. Contains a nice variety of effects, tips, and practical suggestions for close-up,...

★★★★ $5
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PDF

Dave Arch
Electronic Buzz Box by Dave Arch

Although you can find versions of these Electronic Monte boxes for sale on magic websites, I could not find one large enough for my needs nor one that included a buzzer (not just a light). So I built my own. In spite of the fact that my electronic knowledge only involves the ability to insert a plug into an outlet, I built my own the first time in under an hour for around $20.

The premise is simple. From among multiple buttons, you win if you can find the button that lights the light and sets off the buzzer. With the diagram included in my instructions you aren't limited to only three buttons...

$10
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PDF

Unknown Mentalist
Elemental by Unknown Mentalist

The owners of this ebook can get Elemental 2 for a special price.

This is that rare routine which can be powerful even in the hands of a beginner. And for a pro this can become a reputation maker. Stunning impact and yet so easy to do that it can be performed within 10 minutes of learning. No sleights, no stooges, no preshow, no reset, instantly repeatable. Nothing is spoken or written down by the participant related to her choices.

About 40 cleverly designed and ready to print props are included. You may not actually need all these because you will only use 5 cards. But they are included as creative...

★★★★★ $18
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PDF

Eugene E. Gloye
Fantastic Tricks with Plastic Cups by Eugene E. Gloye

Many magicians get their greatest pleasure out of making their own tricks - and there is no form of construction easier or less costly than working with plastic cups. For the man who likes to make his own - no workshop is needed for these easy to construct effects. Over thirty tricks you can make for pennies each. Good magic, low cost. Illustrated.

  • The fake bottom cup
  • Variations of the fake bottom cup
  • The cup with a secret compartment
  • The foo cup

1st edition 1976, 52 pages; digital edition 2012, 42 pages.

★★★★ $6.95
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PDF

Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph
Golf Ball in Glass by Ralf (Fairmagic) Rudolph

[Note: An improved method has been released by Jerry Clowin in his New Way Golf Ball in Glass.

You will learn the secret of how to get a golf ball inside a glass with an opening smaller than the golf ball, without harming either the glass or the ball. Ralf Rudolph is a master of the impossible object. He describes his method of how to make such an object. Once you know how it is done you can make as many presents as you wish. No special tools are necessary. No chemicals are used. With a bit of preparation and the know how you can make something cool.

[Note that the specific German brand of glass Ralf recommends has changed its dimensions and thus it can't be used anymore. The method itself is still valid, but you will have to experiment and search yourself for a suitable glass. Or use the improved method referenced above, which does not depend as much on the glass dimensions as this method does.]

1st edition 2016, 2 pages.

Watch how Nathan Coe Marsh incorporates this impossible bottle into a really nice effect.

...

★★★ $15
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PDF

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