Th e

Gaff Factory

By Craig M ats u ok a
 Th e GaffFactory
Copyrigh t© 2007, Craig M atsu ok a
- Fifth Edition -

TABLE O F CO NTENTS
Introdu ction .............................................................3
Ge tting Starte d .........................................................5
Inside th e Factory....................................................6
Playing Card Anatom y.............................................7
W ate r is al lW e t.........................................................8
D ry Spl itting.............................................................9
Ge tting itToge th e r...................................................13
D M T to th e Re scu e !.................................................14
M ate rial s and Eq u ipm e nt.......................................15
M ak ing D ou b l e Face rs .............................................23
D M T Pre paration .....................................................23
Finish ing Tou ch e s - Corne r Rou nding...................28
Sh im m e d Cards ........................................................31
Spl itFace s and Back s ...............................................35
Invisib l e Se am s - Th e FirstSe cre t...........................36
W ork ing w ith Raz or Bl ade s .....................................37
Invisib l e Se am s - Th e Se cond Se cre t......................39
Invisib l e Se am s - Th e Th ird Se cre t.........................45
Long Cards ................................................................47
Acrob atic Cards ........................................................49
H ofz inse r's Transpare ntCards ...............................55
Erasing M e th ods ......................................................57
Re storing th e Finish .................................................58
Tone r Transfe r Se cre ts .............................................59
Tone r Transfe r: O ve rvie w ........................................60
Tone r Transfe r: Th e Proce du re ...............................62
Tone r Transfe r: Note s and Tips ...............................66
H ofz inse r Transpare ntCards: Tone r Transfe r
M e th od .....................................................................67
Sh im m e d Cards: Tone r M ask ..................................71
Cre ating Graph ics ....................................................73
Appe ndix - Sou rce s & M frs ......................................77

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Th is page inte ntional
lyl
e ftu ninte re sting

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 Introduction
Card m agic is re ple te w ith possib il itie s tow ard pre se ntation and m e th od, b u t it's h ard to spe nd
m u ch tim e on th e cre ative side of th ings w ith ou t ru nning into w al ls. Spe cifical ly, w h e re do you
ob tain cards h aving th e b ack s and face s you ne e d, w h e n you ne e d th e m ? If im m e diacy is
param ou nt, m any tim e s, th e onl y sol u tion is to m ak e th e m you rse l
f. So, natu ral ly, inte re st in
h om e m ade card gaffs h as alw ays b e e n strong.

Th is is ne ith e r th e firstnor l astb ook to de alw ith th e artand craftof card gaffing. Inde e d, se ve ral
good b ook s and vide os al re ady pe ppe r th e m ark e t. W h y ye t anoth e r?A trite answ e r w ou l d be ,
“Th e re ’s m ore th an one w ay to sk in a cat”, b u t th at's a distu rb ing visu al . Le t's go w ith , “Th e re ’s
m ore th an one w ay to pe e la b l ack tige r”. Now th e re ’s an idiom I can ge tb e h ind. Any w ay you care
to l ook at it, th e re 's a nich e to fill. Th is k now l
e dge gap is al lth e m ore appare nt by th e ince ssant
stre am of gaffing q u e stions on Inte rne t m agic foru m s de spite al lth e inform ation pu b l ish e d
h e re tofore .H e nce , th is b ook .

Ye t, re du ndancy can b e annoying. So to save space , w e w on't dw e l lon appl ications (i.e . trick s).
Th e y l ie ou tside th e scope and pu rpose of th is b ook , w h ich is w ritte n w ith th e assu m ption th at
th e re ade r is fu l ly aw are of th e possib il itie s. Fu rth e rm ore , aside from incide ntalu sage , ru b b e r
ce m e nting and ink je t printing w il lnot b e discu sse d, as th e y h ave al re ady b e e n cove re d in gre at
de tail e l se w h e re . Inste ad, w e w il
l focu s on th e l e sse r- k now n "dry m ou nting" te ch niq u e .
Aw are ne ss is grow ing, b u tm ostne ve r b oth e r to try itb e cau se th e y th ink it's e ith e r too e xpe nsive
or th e y don'tk now w h e re to b e gin.Th is b ook is m e antto re m e dy th atsitu ation. Ittak e s you ste p-
by- ste p and sh ow s h ow profe ssional - q u al ity gaffs can b e m ade u sing e asil y ob tainab l e m ate rial s
and e q u ipm e nt.W ith practice , itoffe rs an al te rnative to ru b b e r ce m e ntth atyie l ds re su l
ts anyone
w illb e prou d of.

Th is w ork pre se nts som e u nu su alconstru ction m e th ods th at are not de scrib e d anyw h e re e l se ,
distil ling ye ars of painfu le xpe rie nce into a form b e ginne rs can e asily dige st. As w e l
l, gre at care
w as tak e n to avoid gu e ssw ork and spe cu l ation. Eve ryth ing you se e h e re w as actu ally trie d and
te ste d. In m ost case s, clarifying ph otograph s and il lu strations are incl u de d to com pl e m e nt th e
te xt.

If cre ativity is th e fu e lof innovation, th e n h om e gaffm ak ing is th e e ngine th at drive s m agic

forw ard. It is m y since re h ope th at you w il lfind th is inform ation to b e e m ine ntl y practical ,
e q u ipping you w ith an e arne d sk il
lth at re pays itse l
f m any tim e s ove r. If noth ing e l
se , it sh ou l
d
give you a gre ate r appre ciation for allth e lab or th at goe s into constru cting th e gaffs you can b u y
in m agic sh ops.

Craig M atsu ok a
2007

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Th is page inte ntional
lyl
e ft

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 Ge tting Starte d
Ste p one : Th e righ tattitu de

I applau d you r se nse of adve ntu re in w anting to l

e arn th e m ate rialin th is b ook , b u t you sh ou l
d
k now w h atyou 're ge tting into.

Card gaffing is te diou s w ork . Frank l y, it’s a ch ore . H ow e ve r, w h e n you find you rse lf q u e stioning
th e costof th e l ab or, conside r th is: Th e e ffortyou pu tinto l e arning th is craftgive s you th e pow e r
to fl e sh ou t you r ide as. Final ly, you can stop w ish ing and start h aving! Th ose w e ird gaffs you’ve
b e e n fantasiz ing ab ou t in you r note b ook s w il lcom e to l ife th rou gh th e indu stry of you r h ands.
H ow m u ch is th atab il ity w orth to you ?O nl y you can de te rm ine th at.

D iscou rage d ye t?No?Th e n do th is: Re ad th rou gh e ach proce du re se ve raltim e s first and try to
visu al
iz e you rse lf doing it all. Th at w ay, you w on’t ge t snagge d on th e h orns of nasty su rprise s.
Be gin at th e first page and re ad al lth e w ay th rou gh to th e l
ast. Th e e xpl
anations are progre ssive ,
and re ly on k now l e dge gaine d from pre viou s se ctions. So ifyou sk ip arou nd, you’l
lge tlost.

Th e b e st advice I can offe r is to h ang in th e re and w ork in a room w h e re no one can h e ar you
scre am . Th e re 's no royalroad h e re . W ork ing w ith dry m ou nting tissu e involve s a gre at de alof
patie nce and atte ntion to de tail . You 'l
lm ak e m istak e s apl
e nty and ru in cou ntle ss gaffs on you r
jou rne y to pe rfe ction.

D on'tru sh .Tak ing sh ortcu ts w il

lofte n l
e ad to fru stration and gaffcrapitu de .

5
 Inside th e Factory
A good pl ace to b e gin ou r discu ssion is at th e U nite d State s Pl aying Card Com pany. By
u nde rstanding h ow cards are m ade , you 'l
lh ave a b e tte r ide a ofw h atittak e s to prope rl
y gaffth e m .

Bicycl e s b e gin th e ir live s as h u ge rol l s of l ine n/w ood pu l p pape r m e asu ring ab ou t fou r fe e t
diam e te r. Th e y are fe d into a pasting m ach ine w h e re tw o l aye rs of th e pape r are fu se d toge th e r
w ith b l ack paste . U SPCC says it’s th e se cre t sau ce th at l e nds du rab il ity, pl ayab il
ity, and
“sh u ffle ab ility”. Ne xt, th e drie d/cu re d pape r is give n a pl astic l am inate d coating and se nt to a
m ach ine cal le d a “cru sh e r” th at e nsu re s u niform pape r th ick ne ss b e fore it’s h ande d ove r to th e
printing de partm e nt. A dim pl e d patte rn e m b osse d into th e su rface cre ate s a te xtu re call
e d an “air-
cu sh ion” finish th ate l im inate s sh ine w h il e im proving slip and du rab il ity.

Th e finish e d rol
ls of lam inate d pape r are infe d to a fou r- col or h igh - spe e d w e b offse t pre ss th at,
lik e al
lsu ch pre sse s, prints on continu ou s rol ls at a diz z ying rate . Th e fre sh ly printe d pape r th e n
z oom s straigh tth rou gh a drying ove n w h e re th e ink rapidl y cu re s.

At th e ou tpu t, th ings start to l ook m ore fam il iar. Sh e e ts of fifty- fou r cards are cu t from th e rol l,
e ach arrange d in a grid of e igh tcards w ide by se ve n cards h igh . M ostof u s h ave se e n th e m offe re d
to col le ctors as “u ncu t sh e e ts”. Th e se sh e e ts are inspe cte d and fe d th rou gh a m ach ine th at cu ts
th e m into h oriz ontalstrips of e igh tcards e ach .You w ou l d th ink a k nife gu ill
otine is u se d, since it
can cu t th rou gh a th ick stack al lat once , b u t th at’s not w h at h appe ns. Th e m ach ine cu ts sh e e ts
one ata tim e , possib l y for th e sak e ofconsiste ncy.

Finally, th e strips are stack e d and l oade d into a die - cu tting m ach ine w h e re individu alcards are
pu nch e d ou t. From th e re , it's on to inspe ction and pack aging.

As you can se e , m u ch h appe ns b e fore you can pl

ay Victor Frank e nste in.

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 Playing Card Anatom y
Playing cards h ave th re e l
aye rs. In figu re 1, you can se e th attw o ou te r l
aye rs sandw ich a dark gray
ce nte r l
aye r.

Figu re 1

O u te r l
aye r (b ack )

Ce nte r Laye r

O u te r l
aye r (face )

Th e se laye rs can b e se parate d w ith a w ate rl e ss te ch niq u e call

e d “dry spl itting” or “dry pe e l ing”.
It's a fu ndam e ntalsk il lth at you 'llne e d to h ave b e fore atte m pting anyth ing e l se in th is b ook . To
ne w com e rs, th is m igh tsou nd dau nting. H ow e ve r, if you fol low th e instru ctions in th e ne xtse ction
and de vote an e ntire practice de ck of Bicycl e s to de stru ction, you 'llb e pe e l ing lik e a pro soon
e nou gh .Be fore w e b e gin, w e sh ou l
d discu ss w h y...

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 W ate r is allW e t
Th e ce nte r l
aye r is actu al
ly bl
ack w ate r- sol
ubl
e gl
u e , so w h y notsoak th e cards in w ate r or ste am
th e m and b e done w ith it?Easy, righ t?

W rong. Th e re is noth ing q u ick and e asy ab ou tw e tspl itting. Ith e lps to u nde rstand w h ath appe ns
w h e n you soak a Bicycl e playing card. Itw e ak e ns th e inte rface b e tw e e n th e pape r and th e pl astic
coating, m ak ing th e su rface prone to b u b b l ing. In th is fragile state , it doe sn't tak e m u ch e ffort to
accide ntal l
y te ar th e w e tsu rface of th e pape r and crack th e ink . A ru b b e r b raye r can h e lp sq u e e z e
aw ay th e w ate r, b u t dam age is stillh ard to avoid, particu l arly to th e dim pl e s of th e air- cu sh ion
finish .

Th e re afte r, m u ch tim e is w aste d in care fu l

ly drying th e card. Eve n afte r it drie s ou t, th e finish
ne ve r look s or fe e l
s as good as itdid b e fore th e soak . Save you rse l
f th e aggravation and stick w ith
dry spl itting.

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 D ry Splitting
Forge t w ate r. D ry spl itting is th e w ay to go. It's q u ick and al low s you to h andl e th e pie ce s w ith
little risk . Th e re are diffe re nt dry spl itting te ch niq u e s and afte r a w h il
e , you 'l
lse ttle on one th at
w ork s b e st for you . Som e e xpe rt pe e l e rs scrape cards across a tab l e e dge in one q u ick
u ninte rru pte d m otion, b u tth e l e arning cu rve of th atapproach is ste e p. Th e re 's an e asie r m e th od
w h e re you pe e lth e card a l ittl
e ata tim e diagonal ly from corne r to corne r. Expe rtCard Te ch niq u e
te ach e s it, b u t it’s so fu ndam e ntalth at w e 'l le xplain it h e re and add a fe w h e l pfu ltips to m ak e
th ings e ve n e asie r for you .

W e 'l
lpe e la face for th is tu torial
.

Start w ith a fre sh ne w card and tap one non-

inde x corne r against a h ard su rface u ntilit 1
de nts sligh tly (ph oto 1). Fray th e corne r ju st
e nou gh so you can se parate th e ou te r face
laye r and b e gin pe e l
ing.

Be ar in m ind th at you 're fraying th e corne r

into tw o parts: a th in l aye r and a th ick l aye r.
In ou r e xam pl e h e re , th e th in laye r is th e
face , w h il
e th e th ick l aye r actu ally consists of
Tap corne r againsta h ard su rface
tw o laye rs: th e ce nte r and th e b ack . If you 're
confu se d, re fe r to page 7 again.

If you h ave sh ort finge rnail s, you 'l

lfind it h e l
pfu lto u se a raz or b l ade or a h ob by k nife to
pry th e corne r l aye rs apart by ab ou t a m il
lim e te r. Th e n, grab th e th ick l
aye r w ith e ye b row
plu ck ing tw e e z e rs and pu llit b ack w ard on itse l f to incre ase th e se paration by anoth e r
m illim e te r or tw o.

Ge tting th e corne r starte d is trick y and m igh t b e com e th e part of th e job you’l lh ate th e
m ost.W h il e you 're l
e arning th is, th e corne r m igh te nd u p l ook ing l
ik e you r rab b ith ad b e e n
ch e w ing on it, b u t k e e p practicing. You 'l lge t b e tte r. Avoiding nailde nts and w rink l e m ark s
isn'te asy, b u tyou h ave one th ing w ork ing in you r favor: Th e m ark s are l e ss notice ab l e afte r
you gl u e th e gafftoge th e r, so th e corne r ne e dn’tb e fl aw le ss.

9
 2
O nce you fray e nou gh of th e l aye rs to ge t a
pu rch ase on th e m w ith you r finge rs, lay th e card
(th ick side u pw ard) on a h ard fl at su rface . H ol
d
th e th in corne r dow n w ith you r m iddl e finge r
and grab th e u ppe r th ick corne r w ith you r oth e r
h and. Ke e p you r k nu ck l
e s firm l
y pre sse d against
th e card.

3
Now pu l lb ack and u pw ard on th e th ick corne r by
rolling th at h and b ack w ard on its k nu ck l
e s w h il
e
you r oth e r h and re m ains stationary. Th is pe e ling
action sh ou l d b e fairly rapid, ye t sm ooth and
control le d. As you do th is, th e se paration point
advance s by approxim ate l y 1 cm .

4
Ne xt, m ove you r l e ft se cond and th ird finge rs
forw ard allth e w ay u p to th e ne w se paration
point. H ol
d th e th in corne r dow n firm l
y.

5
Grab cl ose to th e se paration pointw ith you r righ t
finge rs and re pe at th e pre viou s pe e l
ing action to
advance th e se paration pointagain.

10
Al l fou r l e ft finge rs m ove u p to th e ne w
se paration pointand cl am p dow n (ph oto 6).You r
righ t finge rs grab th e corne r ne ar th e se paration
point and pe e l s a b it m ore . Re m e m b e r to rol
l
b ack on you r k nu ck le s.

Continu e th is gradu alpu l ling proce du re al l

th e w ay across th e card to th e diagonal ly
opposite corne r. W ith practice , you can
de cre ase th e nu m b e r of pu l ls it tak e s to ge t
to th e oth e r e nd. Th e fe w e r pu ll
s you do, th e
le ss rippl ing and distortion th e re w il lb e on
th e pe e l
e d face .

Pu lling b ack at a sh arp angl e as sh ow n in

ph oto 7 m ak e s th is e asie r. H ow e ve r, it can
b e w aste fu lsince it dam age s th e finish of
th e th ick pie ce . If you 're pl anning to pe e l
7
b oth side s of th e card, you sh ou l d pu l latan
angl e th at's cl
ose r to pe rpe ndicu l
ar.

Su cce ss = Practice + Practice + Practice

Congratu l ations. You dry spl it you r first card, b u t don’t stop now . It’s te m pting to
ye ll“w oo h oo” and triu m ph antl y w ave th e fre sh ly su nde re d pie ce s in th e air, b u t
re sist th e u rge . You r fam ily w on’t b e im pre sse d. Pat you rse l f on th e b ack and
cal ml y pe e lyou rse lf a w h ol
e de ck of face s for practice . O nce you ge t th e h ang of
it, you’ve passe d th e first m ajor h u rdl e in card gaffing. M ost pe opl e give u p afte r
tw o h u ndre d b otch e d atte m pts. Not you . You’re a de te rm ine d and patie nt
m asoch ist. In oth e r w ords, you’re w e l lon you r w ay to b e com ing a card gaffe r.
H ooray!

W h e n you’re done ce le b rating, discard th e th ick b ack pie ce s and k e e p th e th in

face s.W e w il
lsoon pu tth atb ig pile offace s to good u se .

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Th is is only th e be ginning!
You 're re ading ju sta tiny e l e ve n- page pre vie w of "Th e Gaff Factory".
Th e fu l lve rsion h as e igh ty page s su ppl e m e nte d by 126 col or
ph otograph s and 23 il lu strations. Al so incl u de d in th is pack age are
ve ctor graph ics of card inde xe s and pips th at you can m anipu l ate
w ith in Scrib u s, a fre e ope n sou rce D TP appl ication.

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