Odd difficulty with mouth coil--am I doing something wrong?

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Alain Roy
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Odd difficulty with mouth coil--am I doing something wrong?

Postby Alain Roy » February 28th, 2011, 6:51 pm

Hi everyone,

I'm an occasional performer: I did two (successful) shows for kids last year.

I did half of a show yesterday (I split the bill with another local magician), and it was a lot of fun. I have a mouth coil routine that goes over very well, but had a problem with it. While pulling out the mouth coil, it broke three or four times, and I gave up about halfway through. Arg. While it wasn't a tragedy, it was definitely much less effective than it could have been.

I haven't had problems like this before, though I am only an occasional performer. I'm not sure how to debug my problem. Is there something potentially wrong with my technique? (I'm not sure what to adjust.) Are some mouth coils bad? What should I do in the future to prevent this sort of problem from happening?

Thanks so much for any advice!
Alain Roy

David Garrity
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Re: Odd difficulty with mouth coil--am I doing something wrong?

Postby David Garrity » March 1st, 2011, 11:15 am

Alain,

What brand of mouthcoil are you using?

Sincerely,
David
David Garrity
www.MagicalArtist.com

Alain Roy
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Location: Sun Prairie, WI
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Re: Odd difficulty with mouth coil--am I doing something wrong?

Postby Alain Roy » March 2nd, 2011, 9:33 pm

Hi,

The one in question is from David Cresey Products. I've had this batch for a few years (since I don't perform often).

Thanks,
-alain

David Garrity
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Re: Odd difficulty with mouth coil--am I doing something wrong?

Postby David Garrity » March 3rd, 2011, 3:29 pm

Alain,

Back when I used them in my show, DC mouthcoils were the only kind I would buy.

Is it all of the coils in that package or just one so far?

I used to squeeze them a bit, from top to bottom, then from side to side, to help loosen them up a bit before using them. Maybe that will help.

Sincerely,
David
David Garrity
www.MagicalArtist.com

castawaydave
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Re: Odd difficulty with mouth coil--am I doing something wrong?

Postby castawaydave » March 3rd, 2011, 4:12 pm

Weak to begin with, if the tissue gets too much moisture on it (i.e., in mouth too long before production) spots along the streamer can turn to mush and be damnedly hard to unfurl intact.

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Spellbinder
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Re: Odd difficulty with mouth coil--am I doing something wrong?

Postby Spellbinder » March 4th, 2011, 1:32 pm

I suggest you learn to make your own mouthcoils, and then just make up as much as you will need for a short period of time using strong tissue paper bought from a gift shop. The Wizards' Journal #5 (item 10) is one way to learn if you don't know how. For really strong mouth coils, I suggest making them from plastic tablecloth material (from the Dollar Store). Plastic tablecloths sold for birthday parties is usually colorful enough, and of course, use pink tablecloths if you are making the bubble-gum gag mouthcoils.
Phineas Spellbinder
The Magic Nook

Alain Roy
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Re: Odd difficulty with mouth coil--am I doing something wrong?

Postby Alain Roy » March 5th, 2011, 10:40 pm

Thanks for the tips, I appreciate it! I'll try loosening them up a bit, as you recommend. I'll also investigate making them myself. I had always assumed that it would be too hard to make good quality ones.

Thanks!
-alain


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