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Hi!

I bought the tarantula yesterday, and played with it a lot in my room. After one day of playing, trying and error I got some questions to those of you who own the tarantula too.

My first "issue":
The gimmick itself is quite silence, but the switch produces a clicking noise when you activate the gimmick. It is not that much, but I think anyone who is near you can hear it. Do you have experiences with this or do you know any clever solutions?

Next one:
When I'm walking around with the gimmick in my pocket the wax (sticked to the gimmick) gets free and the thread gets tangled in the spool. I had to repair it several times because of those knots in the thread. Not the best way to keep your tarantula with you I guess. How do you keep the tarantula with you? Do I have to find (or make) a little box for in my pocket or something?

Finally:
A very annoying issue, the thread often gets out the slice in the gimmick and because of the friction with the body part where it is attached to (lol) the thread won't be sucked in the gimmick, and I have to grab the thread and bring it back in the slice. A possible solution for this is wearing the gimmick reversed, and when I wear it reversed the motor seems to be faster and more powerful. That's great, but I prefer to wear it as you have to wear it. Does anyone have any idea or experience of how to achieve the same effect when you wear it like you have to?

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: And now I got a real issue. I don't know or that is exactly the reason, but when I take the thread back very fast (like what you do with magnetic money and the magic pen) the thread gets tangled around the spool, which makes that I can't pull out the thread sometimes. Is that really because the speed, or is there something else wrong. Thanks!

soimon wrote:My first "issue":
The gimmick itself is quite silence, but the switch produces a clicking noise when you activate the gimmick. It is not that much, but I think anyone who is near you can hear it. Do you have experiences with this or do you know any clever solutions?

Tap something to "work the magic" so it makes a similar clicking noise and practice activating the gimmick in time with this?

soimon wrote:Hi!

I bought the tarantula yesterday, and played with it a lot in my room. After one day of playing, trying and error I got some questions to those of you who own the tarantula too.

My first "issue":
The gimmick itself is quite silence, but the switch produces a clicking noise when you activate the gimmick. It is not that much, but I think anyone who is near you can hear it. Do you have experiences with this or do you know any clever solutions?

Next one:
When I'm walking around with the gimmick in my pocket the wax (sticked to the gimmick) gets free and the thread gets tangled in the spool. I had to repair it several times because of those knots in the thread. Not the best way to keep your tarantula with you I guess. How do you keep the tarantula with you? Do I have to find (or make) a little box for in my pocket or something?

Finally:
A very annoying issue, the thread often gets out the slice in the gimmick and because of the friction with the body part where it is attached to (lol) the thread won't be sucked in the gimmick, and I have to grab the thread and bring it back in the slice. A possible solution for this is wearing the gimmick reversed, and when I wear it reversed the motor seems to be faster and more powerful. That's great, but I prefer to wear it as you have to wear it. Does anyone have any idea or experience of how to achieve the same effect when you wear it like you have to?

Thanks in advance!

First, your first sentance is telling the tale. You got it yesterday? I'd say more practice is required on your part and many of these issues will 'untangle' themselves. Yes there is that clicking noise. Guess what, the spectator does not care they are too fascinated by what else is going on. Also speaking to your spectator at that moment will eliminate the click.

I keep mine in my pocket and I keep the IT taught and don't have a problem with it getting loose in my pocket. Perhaps push it tighter to the gimmick.

I did have issues about the thread in the 'slice' more fiddling and practice is required, once I played with it for a while, (more then a few days) I got the tension and angles correct and that resolved itself. .

Like most magic effects it doesn't matter what the packaging claims. It takes time practice and patience to make these types of things work smooth.

I love mine but what works for one person may not work for another.

Both of you thanks for answering Yes, I totally understand that it needs practice: I always practice until I'm doing it perfect, before showing it to anyone else.

I'm very happy with the whole system and quality of the thread: I haven't broke the thread accidentally yet.

Something I still have to look at is lighting: I can see the thread almost at any background and in any lighting-condition. But it is also possible that it is just like the TT: you see it when you know what to see.

EDIT: And now I got a real issue. I don't know or that is exactly the reason, but when I take the thread back very fast (like what you do with magnetic money and the magic pen) the thread gets tangled around the spool, which makes that I can't pull out the thread sometimes. Is that really because the speed, or is there something else wrong. Thanks!

hmm, have not come across that yet. Have you checked to make sure that all is clear on the spool itself, not something in the way preventing it from retracting properly? If not and the problem persists I'd contact the manufacturer and see what he suggests.

I just wanted to share my experience with the tarantula which is a great piece of kit but........ I never know when an opportunity will show its self for me to show of my magical skills so most of the time i am walking around at work or in the pub with either some thing up my sleeve or in my pockets.Unfortunately one day it was my tarantula in my pocket,when i retrieved it i found the trigger had snapped.The repair didnt go well and i lost £50 .As previously mentioned in this thread keeping this in a box is not a bad idea at all untill your ready to perform.I have also heard of a simillar accident that involved dropping the device the out come was the same.Like i said before the tarantula is worth the money but i found it to be very fragile.

I have 3 friends that pre-ordered Tarantula when it was announced, they have all shelved the Tarantula now, because of how fragile and unreliable it is.

I'm relatively new to your forum and wondered whether these issues had been dealt with by the manufacturer?

I've become quite taken with the idea of the TARANTULA but I've now gone into two shops and both have tried to turn me off of buying it - stating that the chances are it will break (as it happens neither of them had it in stock). Is this because of the skill of the magician or a design fault? - they also told me that even if they had one they wouldn't demonstrate it because of fear of costing themselves money if they broke it.

My interest was created when i saw it being shown at the recent International Magic Gala stands (stupidly didn't take a note of the seller) and I must say the individual in question was doing some amazing things.

If it IS fragile but providing I look after it loveingly I'll have an outstanding piece of kit I'd be happy to run with it.

This would be my first leap into thread work - am i running before i can walk?

Any advice would be greatfully received

So I finally succumbed to my To Buy List and got round to purchasing the Tarantula, which had been up there for some time but kind of forgotten about, but shopping around online thought World Of Magic's's price of £36 was great value plus free shipping. I also got another 2 spools, which turned out to be a great idea.

As per the initial post I had issues with on one occasion the wax coming off and the thread retracting and becoming lost in the spool (which is genius: 25 feet in THAT?!); effectively, it became a black needle in a black haystack; lost amid a camouflaged sea, shouting out to be reeled back in (or, rather, out) like a stranded swimmer.

At first the full extent of the problem seemed trivial. But on gingerly plucking out what I presumed was the end of the thread it seems I misjudged and the problem became more complex when two strands magically appeared and I struggled to find the end of the thread, much like when the elusive end of clear sellotape is deceptively difficult to locate.

Mesika suggests retracting and blowing hard on it, but I fear this has not worked and suspect that the end has somehow got tangled and that has made it seemingly impossible to locate.

Anyone got any thoughts? I have back up spools but they aren't the cheapest and it has now become a matter of principle that I somehow resuscitate the spool without throwing it away.

Like a stranded swimmer lost at sea, help!

Rufio wrote:Mesika suggests retracting and blowing hard on it, but I fear this has not worked and suspect that the end has somehow got tangled and that has made it seemingly impossible to locate.
Anyone got any thoughts? I have back up spools but they aren't the cheapest and it has now become a matter of principle that I somehow resuscitate the spool without throwing it away.

If this is anything like the spool on the Spider Pen then good luck trying to find the end. This seldom happens with the pen, but when it does its a right pain. The advise given about blowing doesnt always work. Ive wasted a couple of spools of good thread with this problem. Its as if it doesnt retract uniformly or something, resulting in the end getting tangled in a mass of IT.

jim

That's exactly what I think has happened Jim. The thread is otherwise tightly wound, presumably uniformly.

I may well just have to remember the lesson not to be so blase with it.

On another final question, just to save forking out for Mesika wax, I've been using Michael Ammar's Wax from Card on Ceiling, but think it's too soft, as whilst the thread is intact and can withstand my practice ring, it seemingly has sliced right through.

However, using normal magician's wax was when this spool problem happened, in my silliness the wax had retracted to the slit, but I became quite transfixed with the vibrating wax that I continued to retract (it was a new toy, and I was enjoying playing with it, effectively), and that was when it got sucked into the mass of spool.

The Card on Ceiling wax is too soft for this sort of thing. Its actually standard magicians wax (the hard stuff) mixed with a few other ingredients to keep it soft and sticky.

A tip I picked up, though I cant remember where from, is to place a tiny piece of cotton thread into the wax. The end of the IT is then wrapped round the thread and wax giving a better grip. This can help reduce the risk of the IT cutting through the wax.

jim

Someone once mentioned fixing a long strip of blutac to a table or work surface them rolling the spool along it in the hope that the free end will get stuck to it. I don't think we ever had any respones as to whether it worked or not but as it won't cost much to try why not give it a go?

Thanks for the pointers guys, turns out the blow reset actually works as taught on the DVD, so my second spool is back in action!

Though i'll wait till that runs out before I try the blue tack method.

If it works it's a bonus, if not, I've learnt from trial and error.

I've been using hard wax and that seems to do the job. Rather than spend £8 on Mesika wax pellets however, the cheap hard wax will do me just fine.

So the answer's a blow job and a hard wax... nice !