losander floating table

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Sep 23, 2012
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I know im not supposed to ask about revealing a trick, but i am thinking about purchasing a Losander trinity floating table. I just want to know what im getting before i spend around $1200.
 
Jan 10, 2014
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On losanders website: The Trinity Table is very durable and perfect if you want to perform close-up magic before you float the Table. You start totally uncovered and then float it at any time. With it 3 legs the table can even handle a very uneven ground.

I personally have owned a chinese copy for a few months now and its working just fine. The real Losander table is obviously MUCH higher quality but I couldn't afford it. I would obviously recommend a real one because this is definitely one of the strongest pieces of magic. If money is not a problem for you, then buy it :) It'll last you much longer and will have a bigger impact.
 
Sep 23, 2012
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thats the problem i can barely afford it i was thinking about building one myself.
 
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Apr 17, 2013
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So you have gone from wanting to know what you were getting for the $1200 to really fishing for info so you can build one? Building it yourself is the same as stealing. If you can't afford it then you are A) Not ready for it. B) Do not really need it. If it is something you really need for your act then you would prioritize your finances to save for the effect.
 

Luis Vega

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Mar 19, 2008
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So you have gone from wanting to know what you were getting for the $1200 to really fishing for info so you can build one? Building it yourself is the same as stealing. If you can't afford it then you are A) Not ready for it. B) Do not really need it. If it is something you really need for your act then you would prioritize your finances to save for the effect.

I don?t quite agree with the building one is the same as stealing...

I build one myself for my show, but because I wanted to do some things that you cannot do with the Losander Table, also I didnt like how it looked... I only use it myself and I dont sell it...
 
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Apr 17, 2013
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I don?t quite agree with the building one is the same as stealing...

I build one myself for my show, but because I wanted to do some things that you cannot do with the Losander Table, also I didnt like how it looked... I only use it myself and I dont sell it...

Did you buy an original before you built yours? If not that is still stealing. The "I only use it for myself and will never sell it thing comes up a lot on guitar forums where guys will buy either a knock off of buy the parts and build a stratocaster or telecaster then stick a Fender waterslide on the headstock saying it's okay because they will never sell it. It's still wrong.

Now lets say you bought the original and saw some ways to improve it. You then build yours based on that. Or you have an issue that keeps you from using the original you purchased. That is different. That is adapting something you purchased to fit your needs.
 

RickEverhart

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Sep 14, 2008
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Two members of my IBM ring have purchased the Losander table and love it. Yes, it is expensive but looks awesome once you put in the necessary time, effort, and commitment.

Yes, China has been supplying knock off Losander tables for years and even going as far as using Losander in their demo videos. Ouch...I know.

If you were to build your own out of balsa wood, I'm sure there is nothing holding you back but it may or may not function exactly how it should. Personally if it were me I would just save up and buy the real thing from Losander. He is a very nice guy. I've met him a few times at conventions. Everyone knows they are made out of balsa. The other thing is packing the table. If you build your own and don't use the correct pieces...assembly and disassembly, and transportation could be an issue for you. Losander has really thought this through.

Krab, I understand your feelings and it is a bit of a fine line if a magician wants to build their own version of something, I believe they can. For example if a magician has the "Table Book" and builds themselves a nice close up table or carrying case with wheels that looks similar to a Joe Lefler table...they have every right to. Just my opinion...I'm not trying to start an argument.
 

Luis Vega

Elite Member
Mar 19, 2008
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Almost all the gimmicks I have are custom made by myself (I am an architect so I know how to craft things) and the reason I didn?t buy the table, is because it didn?t have the look I wanted for my show, and I wanted to have some features the original one did not have... so it came to me naturally to make one myself... I don?t say it works exactly like the losander table....but it works the way I need it...

This is not a matter of costs or respect...but practicality (if that word exists)
 

RickEverhart

forum moderator / t11
Elite Member
Sep 14, 2008
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That sounds great Luis. I am not knocking you at all man. I am not as crafty as you so I tend to be the type of magician who just forks out the money....ha ha.
 
Dec 18, 2007
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Northampton, MA - USA
thats the problem i can barely afford it i was thinking about building one myself.

Building a good floating table is hard enough, making the gimmick for Dirk's table won't be easy unless you are an exceptional craftsman. The big issue is that you need to learn how to work the thing and that's not easy either. My recommendation being that you buy yourself a Zombie Ball and work with that for a good year before you buy the rather overpriced prop. . . I'm not saying that it's not a good prop, just 35% more expensive than it should be.

The problem with a floating table in today's world is that most guys treat it as they would a Zombie vs. how it's supposed to be performed. For about $800.00 you can get an excellent spirit table from Steven's Magic that is far more believable in my opinion (they have a couple of them in that range).

The other problem with making a table is that they are made of Balsa Wood which is a very expensive proposition if you aren't a skill woodworker in that most have an overlay of fine wood veneer.

Research floating/spirit tables before you think about doing this. Understand the concept and where they come from and you will find that your better path can be far less expensive and filled with fewer headaches.
 
Nov 26, 2013
207
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Building it yourself is the same as stealing.
All of my invisible decks I have ever owned, were made by me, and they work just fine. Now, making it myself doesn't mean that I am stealing. I mean, if you want to build your kids a bunk bed and you go out and cut the lumber and build it yourself, that doesn't mean you stole the bunk bed just because you didn't buy it from your local furniture store.
 
Apr 17, 2013
885
4
I mean, if you want to build your kids a bunk bed and you go out and cut the lumber and build it yourself, that doesn't mean you stole the bunk bed just because you didn't buy it from your local furniture store.

I think you went kinda of of a strawman Poe there with that one. As for the ID the man who created it has been dead for thirty years. This table is made by someone who is still selling them and is alive. There is a difference there.
 
Nov 26, 2013
207
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So, are you saying if I saw the trailer for a new magic effect, and I figured out how to do it just from watching the trailer, and I preformed the effect to spectators without ever buying it, I would be stealing? For example, when I saw the trailer for Reflex by Patrick Kun I knew how to do it. Now I preform the effect to people, but I do not think of myself as stealing.
 
Apr 17, 2013
885
4
So, are you saying if I saw the trailer for a new magic effect, and I figured out how to do it just from watching the trailer, and I preformed the effect to spectators without ever buying it, I would be stealing? For example, when I saw the trailer for Reflex by Patrick Kun I knew how to do it. Now I preform the effect to people, but I do not think of myself as stealing.

See for sure here you are. You did not buy the effect. You did not get the performance rights to the effect. Since you saw a trailer for a commercial effect and thought "Hey instead of giving money to the guy who created to reward his creativity and his willingness to share his creation i'm just going to start doing it on my own with out paying." This is the reason creative magicians are starting to hold back on releases. This is why we get trailers with huge edits in it. Because people think that just because they can figure out how to do with iwht out paying it is okay.

Then again you have directed people to a youtube channel with exposure on it.
 
Nov 26, 2013
207
2
I can't help what my eyes see. If I automatically know how to do an effect from watching a trailer, there is no point in spending money for someone to tell you how to do something that you already know how to do. That would be called wasting money. Even if I figure out the effect from watching a trailer, I am not going to sell the effect or reveal the effect, so I don't see a problem in my actions. I mean, what do you want me to do, play dumb and act like I never figured out how to do the effect?
 
Apr 17, 2013
885
4
I can't help what my eyes see. If I automatically know how to do an effect from watching a trailer, there is no point in spending money for someone to tell you how to do something that you already know how to do. That would be called wasting money. Even if I figure out the effect from watching a trailer, I am not going to sell the effect or reveal the effect, so I don't see a problem in my actions. I mean, what do you want me to do, play dumb and act like I never figured out how to do the effect?


No I expect you to reward the creator of the effect. I expect you to do the right thing. I knew how imagination coins worked the first time I saw it. I knew how inferno worked as well. i still spent the money on the effects to reward the creators. If you keep trying to figure out how the effects are done from the trailer soon creators will stop putting out effects. Just because you do not see that it is stealing doesn't mean you are not stealing. Not everything is or should be free.
 
Apr 17, 2013
885
4
Let me quote Ricky Jay from Secrets of the Magus
from the New Yorker Magazine
by Mark Singer

"A guy comes up and starts telling me he's a fan," he recalls. "I say thank you, that's nice to hear. He says he used to see me perform in Boulder, Colorado. That's nice, too, I say. Then he starts talking about this wonderful piece I did with a mechanical monkey-really one of the most bizarre routines I ever worked out-and I thank him, and he says, `Yeah, I get a tremendous response when I do that. Audiences just love it.' And I say, `Let me ask you something. Suppose I invite you over to my house for dinner. We have a pleasant meal, we talk about magic, it's an enjoyable evening. Then, as you're about to leave, you walk into my living room and you pick up my television and walk out with it. You steal my television set. Would you do that?' He says, `Of course not.' And I say, `But you already did.' He says, `What are you talking about?' I say, `You stole my television!' He says, `How can you say that? I've never even been to your house.' This guy doesn't even know what a metaphor is. People ask me why I don't do lectures at magic conventions, and I say, `Because I'm still learn- ing.' Meanwhile, you've got people who have been doing magic for ten months and they are actually out there pontificating. It's absurd."
 
Nov 26, 2013
207
2
That's the thing, I'm not trying to figure out the effect, I watched the trailer and I knew how to do it. When you pay for effects, you are paying for knowledge, if you already have the knowledge before you buy the effect, there is no use to spend the money.
 
Apr 17, 2013
885
4
That's the thing, I'm not trying to figure out the effect, I watched the trailer and I knew how to do it. When you pay for effects, you are paying for knowledge, if you already have the knowledge before you buy the effect, there is no use to spend the money.

No you are not just buying the knowledge. You are buying the rights to perform the effect, rewarding the creator for coming up with the effect. Again if you think it is a waste of money to reward the people who create, what will you do when the creators stop releasing stuff because of this attitude.
 
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