How to Improve the Performance of Tenyo Magic Tricks
T-093 Card Changer
Card Changer sometimes does not work perfectly. What I have found to work nicely is using the two red plastic cards from Black Hole. They are heavier than regular playing cards and the extra weight helps trigger the mechanism. You can weave a totally new patter with the Black Hole cards as well.
T-141 Mini-Zag
The Five of Diamonds is not as exciting to zag as a Queen of Hearts or an Ace of Spades. Also many magician’s feel that a card trick is more authentic if it uses Bicycle brand cards. You can make your own cards for Mini-Zag. All you need is two of the same card of your liking and a metal ruler and X-Acto razor knife. Slide out the diamond gimmick piece from the Mini-Zag and use it as a guide and cut the new piece from one of the cards. Insert the new piece and you are ready to go.
T-165 Crystal Pyramid
Some Tenyophiles complain about the sound issue with Crystal Pyramid. What I do is instead of using a US Quarter as pictured in the instructions, I use a Japanese 1 yen coin. The Japanese 1 yen coin is about the size of a US Nickel and it is made of aluminum. The weight of a US Quarter is 5.8 grams and the weight of the Japanese 1 yen coin is 1.0 grams, so you can imagine how much softer the noise is by using the much lighter coin. If you do not have a Japanese 1 yen coin handy then you can use a US Dime which weighs 2.2 grams and will still be much softer than the US Quarter. I myself don’t find the noise to be an issue. For me it represents the coin being teleported into the box.
T-170 Pillars of Thor
When you show the inside of the Pillars after a cut, what is seen is two white dots. I thought it would look more realistic to show real cord instead. I took and X-Acto razor knife with a No. 11 Blade and drilled two holes in the plastic where the white dots were. To drill the holes use a new blade and stick the point into the middle of the white dot. Then turn the knife and it will bore a nice round hole. Next I cut off two small pieces of cord and used white glue to glue the cords in the hole, flush with the sticks. I think CA glue would be too messy for this job.
More to Come …
T-171 Merlin’s Coffer
Repairing Tenyo Magic Tricks
All of the tricks listed below I have successfully repaired.
T-5 Arabian Cards
All of the Arabian Cards that I have had (about 8) have double stick tape that has dried out on the Three Card Monte cards. Fixing this it is as simple as removing the dried out tape and replacing it with a good quality double stick tape. I use 3-M scrapbook tape. It is easy to use because it has paper backing on one side.
T-67 Colour Fantasy
All of the Colour Fantasy I have had (about 6) have had problems with a piece or pieces from the frame being loose. The frame for Colour Fantasy was hand assembled using a rigid black plastic that can easily break so be careful when handing the frame. The loose piece(s) need to be carefully glued back in place. I use CA (cyanoacrylate) glue also know as Krazy Glue here in the US. Being a hobbyist I keep about 10 different CA glues on hand but the easiest one to use and the best one for this job is Krazy Glue in the small container with the brush applicator. It is always better to use less than more and you have to be very careful because CA glue is not forgiving. CA glue can be used to fixed many of the plastic tricks and if you want to make it a little easier you can get what is called a CA Accelerator. It is a thin liquid in a spray bottle and it instantly makes the CA set (dry) on contact.
T-97 Super Stick
I was so disappointed when the Super Stick I bought on ebay arrived and had loose “jewels” in the package. You do not want to use CA glue here. CA glue almost always crazes (clouds) transparent plastic parts which the “jewels” are. What I used is Testor’s Clear Parts Cement. This is a white glue that will dry clear and not craze clear parts. It is used by modelers to glue windows into cars and planes. I am not sure if it is different from white glue like Elmer’s, but I imagine it is more than that.
T-114 Wonder Window
This trick is often broken. I was so puzzled about how it works and why it so easily breaks that I actually cut one open to see how it works and why it does not. Sadly this has brought me no closer to being able to fix Wonder Windows. Check back as I will figure it out someday.
T-118 Sidetrack
This trick is often broken. The main reason why it breaks is that the “book” is closed the while the center section is still extended. The inner workings are just made of cardboard so this mucks things up and the trick never works the same again. I have fixed about a half-dozen of these for Tenyo friends/customers. You can contact me for an estimate to repair your Sidetrack or if you are a Charter or Full member of the Tenyo Magic Forum, you can see a thread where I discuss how I repair Sidetrack. The article is very detailed and there are plenty of pictures. Please note that by just joining the forum will not give you access to the Members Only Section where this information is posted, you will have to become a contributing member of the forum before gaining Full Membership.
T-152 Nostradamus Clock
I received a broken Nostradamus Clock and cut it open to see how it works. There is a little tab that is attached to the spindle and when the clock hands are turned, the tab contacts a series of grooves on the inside of the clock to make the clicking sound. The one I received was not clicking because the tab broke off. I tried many attempts to make a new tab out of a variety of materials (plastic, aluminum, copper) but I was not able to make it sturdy enough to work long-term. Once I had the clock opened I was able to see how the locking mechanism works. It is very finicky and can get stuck either in the locked or unlocked position. To fix a lock problem, all you need to do it tap the clock firmly on a hard surface. You may need to do this more than once but eventually it will work properly again. I have described this to more than a few people and they all got their clock locking and unlocking again.
T-154 Mind Scanner
I have had about a dozen Mind Scanners come through here and at least two were damaged because the batteries leaked acid and corroded the copper contacts. You will see a green residue around the copper contact inside the case. To get it working again, scrape the green matter away with a wire brush and then sand away further corrosion with sand paper or an emery board (check with you wife for one of these). You can slide out the copper contacts to have better access at the corroded areas. When you have it all clean and shiny again get yourself 4 “N” sized batteries and you will be ready to perform Sherlock Holmes Clock.
T-186 Anti-Gravity Rock
I had an Anti-Gravity Rock where the rock would not rise to the height mentioned in the instructions. I pumped the stem repeatedly and slowly I could feel the pressure build up and eventually the full pneumatic lift was restored. If you store your Anti-Gravity Rock for a while you may have to pump it up again when you take it out.
Coming Soon …
T-081 Space Walking Coins
Tenyo Sponge Tricks