Wayne… Great work and great pictures, I want one now just to sit in my office. Please keep us informed as things progress.

Thanks,
Bruce

I once built a zig-zag Rocky for Rocky racoon.

It was very funny and now its above my library.

(ofcourse you will need 2 Rockys...)

Ellen

I started painting yesterday. I have an initial coat of black paint on it and 2 coats of red. Tomorrow, I will take it apart, do some more sanding and add a couple more coats of paint. Here are 3 more pictures.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47083932@N05/4330665149/

Chance,
You wanted more detailed pictures so here you go. I took I apart in order to paint and sand. You can see the working parts.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47083932@N05/

Good job. The base looks sturdier that I supposed. And the space inside looks smaller too from those angles. Let us know how it goes...

Wayne… You are doing a great job, thanks for the photo updates. Are you going to use the traditional graphics on the front?

Bruce

How are you going to make the texture on the box and the sliding door match using low quality 1/4 inch plywood..?

it's not going to realy give the secret away... but won't it be odd to have a huge texture with the wood and a really nice finish on the sliding box?

other than that conncern. it looks good so far!

Whose plans are you using

Yeah the texture is an issue that I am dealing with. The plan is to sand and paint enough coats to make it look smooth and make the the texture similar. If it looks too off, I have a 1/8th piece of wood that I will use as the center slide. I don't want to do that because I like the way the current piece moves.

I am using the Illusion Systems plans. Lots of work to do on it but I am happy so far.

Oh yeah, the plan is to put a traditional white graphic on front.

I hope when you perform it you know the secret... one that Harbin told me 99% of those he'd seen didn't understand.

You put the assistant in, ask a lady from the audience to push the middle section. It doesn't go very far. He says, "You know why it won't go any farther? There's a woman in the box.'

THEN he takes the blades, which are narrow, right, but now the middle section is part way pushed, so the narrowness of the blades makes sense.

Now that the blades are in he askes the spectator to push again... AND THE SECTION MOVES ALL THE WAY.

The look on the spectator's face is PRICELESS.

That is the KEY to Harbin's PRESENTATION.

Thanks so much Pete!

You are welcome. This came directly from a chat with Harbin himself. If you have his book, with the plans, he explains all this, but FEW, if any, followed his advice. If you can find a video clip of him doing it, you will see what he means.

I once booked him to do a show for a group I was working with, just to see him do the subtle things in his work.

He also lectured on this in Hollywood, some years ago. He actually told us he would walk into a cabaret situation with the Zig Zag in two large canvas carry bags, and SET IT UP right in front of the audience, chatting about it.

It is one of the few illusions tht has no hidden gimmicks, there is nothing to hide.

I consider it one of the greatest.

Where can I get cheep plans?

I picked up mine from MadHatter for about $20.

Thanks I'm new to building my effects
and I want to find a good place to get
blueprints.

Just finished my Zig Zag! I think I will always be tweaking it but, it looks like it is done!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/47083932@N0......ostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/47083932@N0......ostream/

Looks nice, I would consider putting an edge trim of say white paint around the shelf to make it look less bulky.

It looks great!

I especially like that you didn't run a band of metal trim down either edge, particularly the moving, non-pillar edge. IMO, the black-on-black meeting of the two edges makes for a more deceptive illusion. When there's a piece of trim on each edge, it calls attention to the amount of space between them.

I remember the first time I saw the Zig Zag performed: Mark Wilson on one of his "Magic Circus" TV specials. He didn't perform it ala Harbin, but I was nevertheless completely fried.

Wow. Congrats on getting it done. Robert Harbin was a genius. How many hours would you say you have invested in your Zig Zag??