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I have made a levitation gimmik that is nothing like what you can buy, but I know you can buy better quality. I just use it because it is convincing and it can be a back up if they dont believe the balducci or king.
Im also working on some magnetic gimicks

I did
I made the raven
but it wasn't that good
I prefer buying everything!! easier and better

Other than experimentation, I've always believed that if you're going to make something then make it as best as you can. If you haven't got the skill, get someone to help who has. If youhaven;t got the tools then buy them but at the end of the day what you produce should be the best it can be.

Often when buying 'ready made' you will find that what you have bought has been made to a budget and you may often find that you spot potential improvements rather quickly using better materials.

A basic example is that you buy a card trick on non- bike stock and you then make it yourself using Bikes which are much better.

Anyway, when buying a production method for a gimmick, in this case for a levitation there's really no excuse for making something poor and then taking it to your audience.

I'm also intruiged that you have three levitation effects and 'appear' in your post to be performing one method after the other if they don;t go according to plan.

I would suggest that you pick what you see as being the best and stick with perfecting that one. My view is that this id definately an effect that you only want to do once and once only to the same group of specs. If your first attempt goes wrong then you shouldn't use another method as a recovery, just move on to something different. People will only be suspicious of what you do anyway as the levitation will not then look impromptu which is to me, a big part of the effect.

well i guess making your own gimmicks is good in some cases. since you made it you should have a good understanding on how it works. also it usualy saves money, unless you spend £500 making your own TT, in that case, your very dumb. Like said above, i also think buying gimmicks is probably the best thing to do, seeing as these things have been professionally made and quality checked. I personally have made my own cards, but thats as far as it goes.

well i guess making your own gimmicks is good in some cases. since you made it you should have a good understanding on how it works.

Now that's true but is also a different point to the one made in the opening post

Roy Houston explained to me many years ago that all "purchased" magic (as in manufactured props) is nothing but a "starter kit". That is to say, you will have to modify them and adjust them so as to fit your specific needs and style.

I'll give you an "insider" example of this;

The Thurston Sawing in Half; in order to make the boxes a bit smaller areas were carved out into the upper portion of the box, by the girl's neck, so that her knees had a place to go... this allowed the cabinet to be a bit shorter and added to it's deceptive qualities. Few other Sawing cabinets of the era used this little ditty.

Here's another one... the table to the original Blackstone Buzz Saw was adjustable so as to tailor fit each girl that worked it.

I realize these are some rather "large" examples, but the point is that we must learn how to take what we purchase and use it as a basis only, augmenting and modifying the idea until we have something that is perfect for us, as individuals.

Far too few people involved in magic today have the tenacity required for attempting to make their own devices and methods and yet, they do have the audacity to think themselves "designers" and "conceptionalists" just so they can keep up with everyone else's credentials. For the few brave souls willing to take this route however, the pay off will prove remarkable, so hang in there. It may take time...even decades before you gain the respect and endorsements, but it will happen! I know this from personal experience and the end results have surprised even me. So hang in there, have faith in yourself and always strive to go beyond the "commercially acceptable".

Wouldn't mind making my own version of electric touch - althought saving £100 odd pounds doesnt outweight the risk of killing someone, regardless of if i like them or not

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