The Making of The McAbee Rings

I have assembled this web page to illustrate the work involved in making the McAbee Rings magical effect. This props look so simple; but a great deal of effort goes into its making. It is this labor, the high cost of the machinery required, and the quality of the raw materials which add to the cost of the finished product. On this page I shall show several of the steps involved in the making of these rings; but no "secrets" will be exposed!

Amateur magicians often do not understand why better magic props seem "so expensive". Hopefully, this web page will help to clarify this issue.

The original McAbee Rings were made from cheap mass produced bracelets. These bracelets were welded steel with a very thin gold plating which quickly wore away. The McAbee Rings that I make in association with Martin Lewis of Magikraft Studios are crafted from pure nickel silver so there will never be any plating to wear away. This material gives a better "spring" to the metal that the originals had.

The raw nickel silver comes in coils which must be cut to the required length for the rings. In the image at the left are shown the coiled metal, the special cutter, and several cut lengths of nickel silver.

Keep in mind that the cost of this rare cutter must be factored into the final price of the rings. This is an equipment investment which must eventually yield a "return".

The cut lengths of nickel silver metal are next rolled into rings.

This is done on a set of rollers which is another equipment investment that must eventually pay for itself.

At the right are shown the rolled rings awaiting cutting to their final length.

Shown here is a ring receiving its final cut.

After cutting, the rings are silver soldered. The silver solder and flux are consumable items which must be factored into the cost.

The torch, fuel, and small vise are also expenses which affect the cost of the rings.

Shown here are several soldered rings awaiting the next step in a series of labor intensive processes.

Remember that labor is expensive - especially skilled labor.

The outsides of the rings are next sanded smooth on still another expensive piece of equipment.

The interiors are smoothed on another heavy duty buffer.

The smoothed rings are next buffed. All this buffing equipment is expensive and must yield a return on the investment.

The sanding and buffing materials are consumables which must be added into the cost of the item being produced.

The polished circles of metal must now be specially crimped on a custom made crimping die (very expensive and with a limited lifespan). The press exerting the 20 tons of pressure to crimp the rings is another equipment expense which needs to earn its keep. The images below illustrate the crimping of the rings.

The finished rings get another labor intensive hand buffing.

This stack of rings still needs the gimmick made and polished. To avoid exposure on the web, I shall not show this step in the manufacturing process of the gimmick. Those wanting to examine the rings may do so at one of Martin's lectures.

After everything is made, adjusted, and cleaned, it must be packaged for shipping.

All of this involves expensive labor.

What you have seen on this web page is lots of expensive tooling that is required for the construction of the rings. This equipment must help to earn a return on the investment. The cost of consumables must be added to the cost of the finished item. The huge amount of labor involved must be factored into the final cost of the McAbee Rings. Since relatively small quantities of any magic apparatus ever get made, the equipment/supplies expenses must be applied to this low production volume. In addition, heating/cooling, insurance, property taxes, utilities, creating instructions, computer related items, publicity expenses, etc. must all be considered in determining final product pricing. And finally, an expense often not considered by magicians is the research and development costs - which are very real. Magic manufacturing is a business not a hobby and as such must be run by acceptable business standards.

A fact of life is that if I (as a manufacturer) can not earn the required financial return by making magic apparatus, I shall make some other items like scientific equipment which will give me the needed return. Therefore, the cost of the magic item produced depends upon solid manufacturing concerns NOT on some undocumented value of "the secret". If magicians want quality apparatus, they will need to pay for it. Quality does not come cheaply.

For years magic dealers have claimed that the secret is a large part of the value. I feel that this was done to prevent product returns when magicians discovered what junk they were buying. Magic is the only business in which people can not examine what they are buying before the purchase and can not return the product after examining it. I know of no quality magic manufacturer who will not allow you to examine the prop before purchasing it. This is only fair as it is impossible to determine if the item is suitable for your needs without seeing what you are buying. This surely must violate several consumer protection laws. If you can not see it, do not buy it.

I hope this web page will help to clarify some aspects involved in the pricing of magic apparatus.