Zig-Zag Card

[Tom Frame]

I love the concept of a Zig-Zag card and I’ve researched the methodology. Oddly, the majority of the effects consist of moving the outer thirds of the card, not the center section, as per Harbin’s wondrous effect.

Most of the published methods involve putting the card into a sketchy container of some sort, placing the card on top of the deck, employing a removable piece of card, or in Jay Sankey’s method, an illusion and an obvious, specially manufactured cad.

I created a self-contained Zig Zag card that eliminates all of those problems.

https://imgur.com/a/Yzc5jGK

It was a brutal build. The gaff is three cards thick. I tried to reduce the thickness by splitting cards during the construction. Unfortunately, the resultant gaff isn’t as durable. Every time you perform the effect, paper is rubbing against paper, and friction will eventually take its toll and the gaff gets out of alignment. In terms of longevity of the gaff, thicker is better.

EFFECT: The performer displays the Zig-Zag card and shows how its center section moves in and out. He comments that the card is ordinary, apart from the two slits around the center section. He whips out an eraser, erases the “slits” on the card and gives it to his participant.

Obviously, the gaff must be switched. I’ve developed sit-down and stand-up methods.

Whaddya think?

[Jonathan Townsend]

That's one heck of a method to pass a dime through a playing card - using a slim paper sleeve to hide the middle while leaving the ends in view.

You might get a stronger effect if the sliding part went the other way, through the unbroken vertical on the left, the way Harbin designed his trick. A sliding panel on the middle section would amuse the magii who are familiar with the full size item.

[Tom Frame]

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for chiming in. I initially created a gaff in which the center panel passes through the left border. But it looked weird to me. The panel is clearly only passing between the two left borders. Aesthetically more appealing? Perhaps. Creating a more fragile, prone-to-problems left side? Definitely.

Here is my amended response to feedback posted on the Cafe.

Instead of offering a mere video performance, I'll post methods for stand-up and seated performances.

I built the gaff with DMT and a 75 pound commercial tee-shirt press that I use to make my other gaffs and kirigami cards. The gaff is quite sturdy. If hurled with sufficient force at a heckler, it will cleave their forehead.

Remember, in performance, you're only going to open and close the panel once. Since I created the gaff yesterday, I've opened and closed it dozens of times and everything is right and tight. I just love playing with it!

It's too soon to estimate how long the gaff will last. It's life span will be determined by how often one performs the effect. I just opened and closed the gaff four times since I typed the last sentence. All is well.

To sustain the longevity of any gaff created with DMT, it's crucial to keep the gaff flat when not in use. Changes in ambient temperature and humidity can cause the gaff to warp. Sticking the gaff in the center of a cased deck of cards or between the bottom pages of a hardback book is all it takes.

At 63, with neither artistic ability nor a firm grasp of spatial relationships, I'm amazed that I created this gaff, and my other gaffs. The creative process of the build and the relief and gratification I experience when, after many failed attempts, the maddening thing works, fulfills me.

Pride in craftsmanship. If you're under 40 years of age, the concept and work ethic may elude you.

I'm not trying to sell my gaff. Hell, the very idea of building another one fills me with fear and loathing. I'm simply sharing the joy of creation and hoping to inspire you to nurture, exercise and manifest your own imagination.

[Edward Pungot]

With DMT technology you need the proper eraserhead.

[Tom Frame]

Hi Edward,

It's nice to hear from someone who appreciates the detail and tools needed to create an effective gaff. I'm a tyro, but I've been around long enough and done the research to know that there aren't many of us left.

None of my humble card-crafting offerings would be possible without Eoin O'Hare's jigs, a so-called, self-healing cutting board, the wondrous Gyro-Cut knife, sharp scalpel, sharpened pencil, white Crayola pencil, blue painter's tape, ruler, smudge-free eraser and an illuminated, magnifying headset.

With the requisite tools, relentless passion, patience, and most importantly, imagination, anyone can create all manner of gaffs.

Pink Pearl is serving me well thus far. I'll check out the other erasers.

Thanks.

Tom

[kkelly]

tom, check out don england's version from his 1979 lecture notes. it's similar. he also has another more complicated gaff that i actually like better and used it in my castle show back in the '80's.

[Edwin Corrie]

tom, check out don england's version from his 1979 lecture notes. it's similar. he also has another more complicated gaff that i actually like better and used it in my castle show back in the '80's.

It's also in his book TKO's, but the details of how to make it are in Apocalypse Vol. 2 No. 5.

I have one of these somewhere (I think it's the same) so it must have been made and sold at some point.

[Tom Frame]

Thanks Kevin and Edwin. I'll track down Don's version!

[Tom Frame]

Drat! I don't have that issue of Apocalypse in my collection. And I can't find it online.

Could someone please send a copy of Don's handling to me? I'll be most grateful.

[Dave Le Fevre]

Done. I've sent it to the e-mail address on your website.

[Tom Frame]

Thanks, Dave!

I sent a copy of Hypercase to you.

[Dave Le Fevre]

Tom, that's very kind of you. And it really wasn't necessary.

[Tom Frame]

Don's construction is quite different. I like it. His mechanism is external. Mine is internal.

I detest any effect in which a gaff is placed on the deck for the sole purpose of switching it.

Here's an example of my poor spatial relations. I used three cards to construct my gaff, but I didn't consider that one card fits into a gap in the other two cards. Thus, I erroneously announced that the gaff is three cards (nine layers) thick. It's not. It is two cards (six layers) thick.

I've come up with an idea to reduce the thickness to four layers while maintaining structural integrity. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Chris Aguilar]

I detest any effect in which a gaff is placed on the deck for the sole purpose of switching it.

100% with you here.

I hate the whole: "Watch me do a wondrous thing with this card, then (for no reason) put it back atop the deck, do a doublelift (also for no reason) and *then* hand it out for inspection"

[Tom Frame]

I successfully constructed a four-layer gaff. Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should.

While the center panel has internal support, its upper and lower edges ride along edges of the cut-out section of the card. The narrowness of the four-layer edges sometimes causes the edges of the center panel to slip off the surrounding edges, causing the panel to come out of alignment during transit.

This problem doesn’t occur with a six-layer gaff. Those two additional layers provide wider “rails” to support the center panel and keep it in alignment. Clearly, thicker is better.

My adopted son, Jeff Prace, stopped by for our weekly session. I didn’t share my assessment of the four-layer gaff. I simply let him play with the six-layer and four-layer gaffs and asked him which version he preferred.

He encountered the “falling off the rails” problem with the four-layer gaff, but not with the thicker gaff. He said the thicker gaff felt sturdier and slid more smoothly. He could slide it confidently and effortlessly.

With the four-layer gaff, he had to carefully slide the center panel, being mindful to ensure that it stayed on the rails. Neither he nor I want to have to worry about such things.

I conducted the same experiment with my magically-informed wife and she too preferred the thicker gaff for the same reasons.

That’s enough focus group testing for me. The four-layer gaff is simply too flimsy, has too much “play”, is prone to misalignment, and it isn’t as durable. I’m sticking with the six-layer (two card) gaff.

To prevent the misalignment problem with the four-layer gaff, Jeff suggested a modification to my internal design. Though not needed with the six-layer gaff, I’m going to employ it for insurance. It essentially locks the panel to the rails. I am forever grateful to him.

I’m going to create a few of the gaffs and send them to several esteemed folks for their assessment.

Stay tuned...

[Tom Frame]

I initially created a gaff in which the center panel passes through the border. But it looked weird to me. The panel is clearly only passing between the two left borders. Aesthetically more appealing? Perhaps. Creating a more fragile, prone-to-problems side? Definitely.

After much tinkering and the destruction of a deck of cards, I overcame the above-cited problem. Oh joy!

Forget you saw the video of the first version of the card. Pretend that version never existed, because it no longer does.

This version more closely resembles the actual Zig Zag and is actually easier to construct.



https://imgur.com/DlhSief

[Tom Frame]

In response to several requests, my Zig Zag card is now available at my shop. Purchasers receive a Queen of Clubs in your choice of a blue or red Bicycle back. I include a PDF explaining the operation and maintenance of the card. I also suggest two magical applications

Barring re-starts due to mistakes, it takes two and a half hours to create each card.

I’m not charging for materials, only for my time and alleged craftsmanship. The card costs $25.00, with free shipping.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking.

“Leaping lunacy, Tom! I’m not paying $25.00 for an overpriced ornament with no magical features!”

I realize that the card won’t appeal to most magicians. My tiny, target audience consists of Zig Zag zealots, gimcrack gluttons and conjuring curio connoisseurs. Their patronage will suffice.

Gary Plants: “Your card is clever!”

[Tom Frame]

Mike Powers: "Very cool. Your Zig Zag card is an engineering marvel!"