Cool Otis Deals

Hi everyone,

It is with great sorrow to inform you guys with the following message.

On April 18th, Todd passed away at around 5:30 pm mountain eastern time. He suffered from a massive heart attack and the doctors tried putting some stents in, but one of his arteries was completely blocked. He was sent to a bigger hospital with plans to undergo open-heart surgery. But they found that his livers and kidneys were failing so they had to instead put him on dialysis. After that, the doctors informed us there was very limited options to treat Todd’s condition and that one of the remaining options was if he got a heart transplant. However, the doctors stated that there were low chances of survival with this procedure as well. At this point, we were not ready to let go of Todd’s life, but we knew that he wouldn’t have wanted to go through with any type of procedure. In the end, he was comfortable and was able to leave the world peacefully and painlessly. We are not ready to let go of his existence from our lives and are truly heartbroken from this loss. We hope that his influence and impact within the magic community carries on as one of the greatest coin gaff makers of all time.

Sincerely his daughters,

Lily and Qing Qing

Gen Z and #IDIOCRACY – YouTube

Dude cracks me up.

Spring cleaned the shop. I have all the machines oriented to these sets now and production has begun again in a more sterile environment. 🙂

Mr. Kam suggested we call these the NRA’s.

I’m already seeing a lot of interest in these, and since I plan on just hunkering in now, I’d like to go old school and make shit easier for everyone, myself included.

How about… anyone in US that wants one, just send me a check? Just like the old days, and I won’t cash your check until I am ready to ship. Also, I already got a check that forgot postage. Please. And thank you. I think it will be around $14 with $400 insurance. International is still around $40 by priority with up to $200 insurance available.

Japan, I still think I can cash your international money orders, but haven’t tried in years. Canada same, but I used to be charged something on my end as well.

Bank transfers and WU have been a bit of a hassle for me, but I guess there are not other options for some countries.

Right now there is a bank transfer that landed in my account last week… for $441.44. I have no idea who it is from. So if we must go this way, PLEASE let me know when and the amount you sent asap.

In other news, my daughter had her last hard core chemo yesterday. She got to ring the bell, after a several month ordeal that I just can’t imagine. Now she just needs to survive this last dose, and then heads back to MAYO to see what’s next. Thanks again for all your support. This has been the hardest stretch for me, as well.

So, there are the first 9 sets that I will be shipping. I think I have received payment for 7 of them already.

Maybe you guys want to pick and choose a bit before I ship. Talk amongst yourselves.

I have become partial to the more slick ones, and the larger stack on the left, that I will be using next, those are all slickie rickies. The real slick ones with less relief on the face allow for a thinner coin. More deceptive.

The ideas keep coming for the No Reasonable Application set. Got some cool matrix ideas. Where’s Neighbors?

… I got sidetracked a little.. was literally working around the clock on these over the weekend and shit.  Got a little excited with my new toy.  Ha.  Anyway, going to drop the dime in these 9 soft Morgan sets and be back to getting the csb’s out tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I’ll hold one of these back to see if Mr. Busch changes his mind… these are very nice Craig.  Ha.  You can have first choice when I turn them over.  So I have at least 8 of these sets.  $400 each.  NO resale guys.  Thanks.  Ha.  This is for workers.  I don’t want to see this on ebay for $1500 or some shit.

Then I’m not going to be distracted again until all csb coins are gone from my bench.  Ha.  I have 7 guys here that have sent money, a couple more promised, and maybe 3 or 4 sets after that.  I’ll check the rosters.  🙂

https://twitter.com/i/status/1373414985058107394

Amazon.com: Sunstar Kadomaru Pro, Corner Cutter (S4765036): Office Products

Hey, I was going to make a little corner rounder that has replaceable carbide inserts, and I stumbled on this in a search for materials.  Tony Miller sent me a couple of these, and they are fine.  Hard to find 1/8 radius on most of them, but this one has a 3mm radius, which is damn close.

I wanted to call it AnalSchwab’s Great Reset, or something along those lines.  But I digress…. you can make suggestions.

But hey, what I’m finding out is… I think everyone is going to love this freaking gaff. Seriously.  It could become just as much a holy weapon as Triple Threat or UWC in my opinion.  A lot of beautiful and totally unique routines could come out of it.  I know, in certain talented guys’ hands, this will be a holy weapon for sure.

When I first imagined this, it was merely a cool way to eliminate the bang ring, or little thumb pressure spot to open it.  I had no idea it would turn out to be an… at the fingertips application, and there are really so many possible diversities in plots and handlings.

One cool thing is you can separate and push nest to fingertips, then you can use the separated half to hold the nest together.  You can turn this upside-down, place the nest on any surface, and secretly slide the other half out from under the nest and into finger palm as your hand comes away. If it’s in the hands, you can lever the coins up one at a time and produce smaller and smaller.  If it’s on a mat, you can lift the coins off one at a time, distract away ala liptak… and each time point to a smaller coin on the table.

In the hands, when you finally produce that last super thin barber dime… it’s so small it appears to come out of almost thin air.  I think I like the idea of saying it takes alot of energy to produce coins out of thin air, and as the energy drains.. the coins get smaller and smaller.  Along those lines.

I thought of another plot where you never show the other dollar half, or we will call the tail side of the dollar.  So, you show the full coin on both sides, you separate and produce all the other coins, but retain the tail side half in fingerpalm.  They’ve seen both sides of the dollar coin, so no proving is necessary.  Then, 2 things.. the tail side of the dollar is in position to slide back together, and when all the coins vanish back into the one dollar it is more puzzling.. or would be for magicians at least.  Easy to sleeve or vanish everything now too.

Also, when placing the coins back into the hand, if you snap the magnets in this position while loading, it makes a little pocket there to slide the coins back into.  Being stuck together like this makes it easy to hold in many positions as you load the coins back in.

You can also pull backwards, rather than forward and around, and use middle finger to push nest to fingertips.  Either way works good.

More to come.

I know I told Mr. Busch that I could make this set in any coins.  And I could.  But I am going to be making these with barbers and old morgans the standard set.  Everything is already thin and smooth and fits together perfectly .. just barely.  It was a miracle.  Also because I like the aesthetics of having all the smaller coins look alike, I’m going to make all these sets like the one pictured.

For Mr. Busch and those that want custom sets with uncirculated coins, for instance… I’ll make you any combination, but I think the backs of the inner coins will have to be shaved off, at least a little, like original $2.85 gaffs, to allow room to fit in the dollar.  You guys may change your minds.  🙂  The barber sets are the bomb when you handle them.

I have mastered the punch deal way past the perception of those not familiar.  Why risk scrutiny or waste those talents on magicians or gambling enthusiasts?

I got permission to post a preview.

Or them apples?

So, I like it.  In comparison to old style $2.85, you had an insert that pressed into a shell… ala scotch and soda.

When showing the insert and shell as 2 dollars, one was much smaller than the other, and one didn’t have milled edge.  This solves that aspect, as both half coins are the original diameter and have the milling.

In the original set, the coins are crammed in there, and when you got down to the dime, it was the width of a  piece of paper.  This design, without adding extra width, holds an entire ungaffed dime that you can show on both sides.   None of the coins are cut down, all are full width when displayed on surface, each only has a cavity for the next smaller coin.  It’s a very nice flush nest that fits almost as a slug in the 2 dollar halves.  This nest is not magnetic and coins are separated easily.

Also, when displaying the 2 dollars face up, there is enough distance between the 2 tiny magnets, that the coins will not attract to each other, and can be slid around loosely in the hand.

To open the gaff, just twist the 2 dollar halves a twelfth of a turn in opposite directions.

…… how many friends of the skinny hillbilly girl believed this?  Answer:  All of them.   And probably that guy.  I’ve known this little gem for a long time.. but watching her work those spouts…. she’s not a bad actress, I think there is a reality show in her near future.

Ah, this guy is even more clever. Read the comments of all the guys trying it. Hilarious.

Back to making these.  These are the 1973 Korean dimes I am using.  All you guys that sent me money should be shipped in a week or less.  Will go from there.

I have finished my part in the machining of 12 sets of the belly stripper project and shipped them off to Outerlingus to finish.  I kept one here that I used as the prototype to test the workings, and tried different depths of work, etc.  Aiming at making the work as subtle as possible.

The same sleek, buck knife sized gadget will do both concave and convex… as opposed to the.. cut the corners and leave a big hump in the middle on half the cards and shave the other half of the deck down… straight on both sides.   So out of all the current fixtures and gadgets that I have seen out there, this one will be unique in that it does both concave and convex with ease.  And rather than have half the deck be a narrow card, the concave cards will be full width on ends, and the convex cards will be full width in the middle.

My personal proto here, was made on my sine plate, using what worked out to be about .3 degree angle.  Ha.  But the Craigster is actually going to make these sets with something like a 440 inch radius, rather than the angles, which I find… exciting… a breath of fresh air in the belly world.  And my clever new design, based on appearance only.. of an old Will and Finck fixture,  makes it a literal blast.. to just slide the cards in, lock solidly in place instantly, shave, and take them out.  I can also mention, that with the more subtle work, the clean up on the end radius’s is almost nothing.

I might have mentioned that I was practicing dealing seconds, to the point where I just do it whenever I can, when I’m doing something else.  Or nothing.  I can do it in a trance like state even.  Anyway, rather strangely addictive and relaxing meditation.  And now, since I finished this belly proto, I just can’t stop shaving cards.  I still have boxes of scalpel blades…. and the feeling of the shaving of the cards so accurately and gliding along the edge cutting nearly resistance free.. and that little curl of paper coming off…. I dunno… it’s amazing.  Getting wood yet?  I’ll post some pics if I can get permission.

I just posted this in the comments of last post, but here it is again in case you missed:

I have around 14 sets finishing up.  And another 6 or 8 after that.  So here are the next bunch.  The cut off this time, from the very first quarter CSB post was Joe M, if you want to see where you stand after these 14 or so sets.

RS, Raphael, Jordan S, Masato, Tommy F, Josh S, Evan S, Shaun H, Kerry D, Danny R, Tommy G, Nate B, Ted S, and Joe M.

I converted everything over to silver soldering.  These new sets are all silver soldered and I want $140 each for them.

… I mailed everything I have been paid for, I think.  Except, I got a check from Tyler yesterday… made out to Otis Williams.  Ha.  I have no idea if they will cash that.  Ideas?

I have another round of the Quarter csb sets coming.  Will announce how many in a few days.  9 or 10, I think.  I went to get more silver quarters friday and test the silver waters.  Holy Shit.  Sorta got the scoop on this whole play… wait a week at least.  $440 for 2 rolls of quarters.  Near $35 for slick Morgans.  I got one roll of quarters for $220 and cut the losses… I hope.  Ha.  Clown world.

Beginning a joint stripper deck project with Mr. Craig Okito Ousterlingus.  Looks like fun.  Just got all the start up material yesterday.  My design, actually an upgrade of old Will and Finck design, he’s doing all the advanced method engineering shit and finish machining.

I can show you an end view for a teaser…ha….

I think not.

Taking a week to design and make fixtures, and going well.  The plan is to silver solder all my gaffs in the future.  Shit just got… Ringier.

There will be a few exceptions… magnetized coins for instance.

That is totally awesome. Hannibal without the gurney. The anomalies surrounding the inauguration and beyond are really piling up.  Clownworld is going on steroids.

UPDATE: I’ve just received word that this particular Joe is this year’s winner of Ruby Montana’s Spam Carving Contest.

I’ve got 4 of the sets with the llama ready to ship, and 4 more almost done.

Here are the next 8 guys..

Tyler

Aaron I.

JT

Jim McG

Steve Mills

Patrick F

John O’Neil

Helveston…. I need your address.  Sent you a mail a while back, check your junk.

Ro

There are more coming after these as well.  I will see how many more are still on board.

Please include postage.  🙂  Every time I don’t say that…

I got a call from NYC early this morning.  David has passed.  Don’t know the details.

All coin workers owe him respect.  RIP.

Looks like I have 9 here that are nearing completion.  There are 2 more of these same coming after that.  And after getting everyone in the first batch switched out, I have 3 of the sets with the older darker Japanese coins left from first go.  I’ll go back soon and see what the pecking order is.

I set up the camera in the living room last night, so maybe soon I’ll share something.  These sets with the pint size bicycle cards, changes the game quite a bit.  I can turn the gaff over under the card just using the 2 middle fingers.  I can also push the coin between the fingers, and as the gaff rests on the table I can raise my hand enough.. so that when I pinch the gaff, the edge is covered and you can show the hand really empty, and both sides of card, etc.  You can also roll the coin under the back of your hand from there.. do you guys remember the “mirage” vanish?  I can’t remember that guy’s name.  Clintock used to do it with 3 dollars.  When showing the insert coin has jumped, you can just lift the chinese shell directly off the insert coin as you snap the card and take the shell with it.  This eliminates extra adjustments under the card.  The coins are so small basically.. that you can do clandestine matrix manipulations, hide them easily, and show the hands empty more often.  When the gaff is in classic palm to start, you can show both palms up for instance.. in what ever that classic palm subtlety is called.  It is easily concealed under the thumb meat from most angles.

Ever since I got the new Phantom book from Kalush, I haven’t been able to pull myself away from the cards.  I have those new thin decks to play with, and I have a couple of the old griftermans …trying different locations for the punch.  Scott says your thumb pushes the card off directly parallel to the deck, and as it comes back to original position, that is the sweet spot where you feel the punch.. on the second card before the first card has completely left the deck… so there is no fishing around movements with the thumb.  I’ve been playing around, blindly trying to feel 3 different punch marks in that small area.