Magic Trick: Pulling a Chain Thru a Solid Stick

Here is an easy to make, easy to perform magic trick: Pulling a chain through a solid wooden stick.

You need a small-link chain like the ones used for necklaces, and a few small pieces of wood to build the magic prop. I will not give more detail here until you watched the trick performed in the video above.

As an alternative in case you don't have the woodworking tools I show you how to make the prop with a 3d-printer in the last step below.

Spoiler Alert: If you don’t want to know how the trick works do not proceed to Step 1 and beyond.

Small pieces of wood, silver jewelry chain, small dowel, wood glue

and/or 3d printing filament

To build the prop for this trick you need to prepare two pieces of wood 3.5” by 2” by 3/16” thick. I used some cherry wood cut-offs. You also need to make some veneer pieces from the same wood to cover up the secret ingredient of this trick, see the next step. I sliced off strips of cherry that are about 1/16” thick. You could also buy veneer commercially and make the entire prop from 1/4” plywood covered with veneer.

In one of the wood pieces drill a 1/4” diameter and 1/8” deep hole with a Forstner bit. Do not drill all the way through! Also make sure that the center point of the bit does not go through the far side. When the prop is completed you want this hole to be fully hidden. Use the attached template (magic-prop.pdf) to locate this hole on the piece of wood.

In step 2 below we drill the second hole, 3/16” in diameter all the way through on both wood pieces. Do not drill these holes now.

The secret ingredient for this trick is a 1/4” round by 1/8”” thick rare earth magnet; and a jewelry chain that is attracted by the magnet. Most cheap jewelry chains are silver colored and made from steel, so they should work well. Pick a chain with small links. You need about 12” to 15” of chain.

The magnet is inserted into the 1/4” hole, and should be flush with the surface of the wood. It is then covered with the thin veneer strips you cut in the prior step. Before gluing the veneer on try the prop with the jewelry chain to make sure the magnet strongly attracts the chain through the veneer. This is essential for the trick to work. Cover the second piece of wood with veneer as well in order to match the thickness and appearance.

After the glued-on veneer dries drill a 3/16” diameter hole through each of the two pieces in the location indicated on the drawing. Lightly sand the two pieces and blend in the edges to hide any glue lines.

Magnet: https://www.kjmagnetics.com/d42-neodymium-disc-magnet

Chain: I used this one

To finish the prop you need to make a base. Take a 3” by 1-3/8” by 3/8” thick piece of wood and cut two slots about 1/4” deep. The slot width should be the thickness of the two wood pieces so that they can be inserted snugly. The slots are about 1/8” apart. Optionally, glue the piece with the magnet into one slot. The magnet and veneer should be facing inward towards the second slot as it needs to catch the chain. The video above should make the prop construction and use clear.

I finished all wood pieces with a coat of Danish oil.

Lastly you need a wooden stick (dowel) to perform the trick. It is a 3/16” diameter dowel, about 4” to 6" long. I decorated the end of the dowel with a wooden bead from a hobby shop. I also lightly sanded the dowel so it’s easier to fit through the holes in the two wood pieces.

The pictures above show the trick sequence with the front wood piece removed. The audience will not see that the chain is held up by the magnet since it is hidden behind the front wood piece. You may let the audience inspect the prop before the performance, but don’t give them the chain at the same time as it may reveal the magnet.

Inspiration and credit for this trick goes to "Let's Make Magic".

Laser engrave, paint, or otherwise decorate your prop as you wish, and go dazzle your audience.

Three files for 3d-printing the magic prop are attached below. When 3d-printing the 'magnet plate' you need to add a pause into your gcode file at the proper layer to pause the printer and insert the magnet. Search in your slicer software on how to do that. The two plates have two rounded corners to indicate the top, this is important for the performance. Cover the plates with decorative tape if the hidden magnet is visible against a light.