I wasn't quite sure where to post this, but after some consideration decided that the "Workshop" might be the best place.
This morning I managed to score a great deal on eBay (who says there are no bargains left out there?). Not quite magic, but pretty close. The seller was none other than English Magician Paul Daniels. The item is the Hammond Electric Bridge Table, invented and made in 1932 in Chicago by the Hammond Clock company which eventually became the Hammond Organ company. About 3,000 or so were made at that time - I don't think an awful lot have survived to present day. A deck of bridge size cards is placed in a chute which is pushed in to activate the mechanism. It will then deal each of the four players 13 cards (dropping them into a slot in front of each player) while shuffling them at the same time. Paul has had the table stored in a shed for some time and he originally picked it up from the estate sale of David Nixon (another English Magician who also had his own show on the BBC, a little earlier than Paul's). The wood table frame and legs need sanding and staining, and a new table top must be made from plywood and covered with a green "baize" material, but the basic mechanism apparently still works (may need some WD-40). You can see a similar table here: http://uv201.com/Clock_Pages/Hammond/bridge_table.htm
Anyway, I do have some restoration work ahead of me when I receive it, and I figured that I may even put a plexi-glass top (interchangable with a plywood top)so the inner workings can be seen as it deals. This appealed to me (I imagine it would to many of you out there!)as a sort of weird automaton. The provenance alone of it having belonged to these two famous magicians fantastic. I was thinking that it would be interesting to do some sort of card effect with the table by feeding it a gaffed deck (something like a Svengali deck or?).
If anyone out there has had some experience with one of these tables or can offer up some pointers as to restoration or even what card effect I should eventually try with it - please give me your ideas!
Once I get it and do some work on it, I'll post some pictures.

Bruce Hunt

The method used for shuffling the cards led to some discussion in computer programming circles as to its 'randomness' compared with other approaches. Its bias of keeping small sets of cards in the same order made its use undesireble for serious Bridge players. So, it has a certain amount of fame beyond the delightful mechanism. Perhasp that 'bias' could be used to some advantage in doing a card trick.

Ken Klosterman has one that is in fully working order. It is an amazing piece of work. Ken's does have a plexiglass top.

Richard

Hi Funsway - I believe that the thing that looks like a broken gear in the middle is the "brains" and (see the picture in the link in my first post) determines the randomness of the deal. Although real antique collectors would probably shudder at the thought - I was thinking that after experimenting with it that I might be able to make some replacement "gears" that would deal cards in a certain pattern. Of course for each different effect would be a different gear. Most collectors would be concerned with returning the table to its original state, but I have to live with the thing in my house and from what I have seen of other examples,the original state (ugly brown top)looks pretty tacky. I am more concerned with the inner workings than the original look. There is one in better shape than mine on eBay now at: http://cgi.ebay.com/Electric-Bridge-Tabl......35570025 , but then again they want three times what I paid for mine.
Thanks Richard. I might try to get a hold of Ken to compare notes once I get the thing repaired.

Bruce

Ron Geoffries also has one that he brings out to lectures. It is amazing to watch it work. I don't know if he ever did any magic with it, but you never know.

Seems like there is more of these out there than we thought. Maybe we should have a bridge tournamnet.

Richard

I just received it a few minutes ago by courier! Unbelievably It only took three days to get here to the West Coast of Canada from London (actually from a place called Wargrave which is apparently about 36 miles outside of London). It made it here in one piece - the outside packaging was ripped but he had put enough foam and bubble wrap around it to survive most disasters - but now I have a little restoration work to do. A little rust (here goes with the WD-40)and since the UK has a bit of a power difference (North America 110 Volts - England 220 Volts), I will have to bypass what looks like some sort of early power adapter. Anyway, once I get my new toy up and running, I'll do the picture thing.
Bruce

Bruce