This is the first time (2022), the trick secret of the steel ball through glass revealed and explained how it is done online.
No one has written about how the steel ball could apparently penetrate through the glass inside the wooden box.
Similarly, there was no YouTube video clips exposing this close up penetration solid through solid magic trick.
Long before all those TiKTok videos clips.
By the way, I do not own or purchase this magic wooden box.
All my so-called magic tricks revealed or exposed articles, are my observations by viewing the demo videos.
As a magic enthusiast, I love to explore how magic tricks and stage illusions work.
It is not just trick secret methods, but more of the science or psychology behind the magic effects.
How magic tricks play with our perceptions and expectations; thus creating a sense of wonder and mystery.
NOTE: This is a revised and updated article. The original post was published back in April 22, 2022.
This steel ball through glass magic trick is not the 1930s rectangle flat wooden box version by John Snyder, Jr.
This vintage magic prop is also known as the “Steel Ball Through Glass” or “The Atom”.
Davenports Magic manufactured it, and advertised as “The Miracle Steel Ball Thro’ Glass”.
The secret of this “The Miracle Steel Ball Thru’ Glass” is by using a movable false bottom.
It is similar to the Coin Of The Realm magic trick, which I have already explained.
Steel Ball Through Glass Revealed
This steel ball through glass trick revealed in this article is a smaller square wooden box.
It is very similar to the Ching Ling Coin Box, as shown below.
I believe the method of the steel ball passes through glass trick is the same as the Ching Ling Coin Box.
How does this steel ball through glass trick work?
Before I explain the steel ball through glass revealed, let’s check out its effect.
The Effect:
The performer displays a small wooden box with holes on top and bottom.
Then he places a glass piece inside the box, so that it obstructs the hole at the bottom.
He closes the cover of the box, and drops a steel ball into the hole on top.
The steel ball seems to penetrate through the glass sheet and it drops out from the hole below.
NOTE: The ‘glass piece’ is actually a clear acrylic piece.
Here is one of the steel ball through glass trick demo videos:
Now let’s see how this seemingly impossible penetration magic trick is done.
This steel Ball thru glass magic trick was advertised as a special mechanical box.
From there, I knew the secret must be in the box design.
The glass piece is solid and it uses only one steel ball, just like the U-235 Penetration Trick by Thayer.
So I focused my observations solely on the wooden box.
Ching Ling Coin Box Trick
As both boxes are very similar, I believe the method of the steel ball passes through glass trick should be the same as the Ching Ling Coin Box.
I have already revealed and explained how the Ching Ling Coin Box trick is done.
The Ching Ling Coin Box secret is shown below:
It has a secret pivoted door on one side of the wooden box, like the Lippincott Box or the Watch Box.
The “Watch Box” is found in the Professor Hoffmann‘s book “Modern Magic: A Practical Treatise On The Art Of Conjuring“.
READ ALSO: Check out 21 free books by Professor Hoffmann.
Just before you pull down the cover to close the box, you press the top part of the door inwards.
Hence the door swivels in or it opens up.
Now it should look like the picture as shown below.
Tilt the box towards you, to let about half of the glass piece slips out through the bottom opening of the door.
Let it falls into the palm of your hand.
Now the glass piece is not blocking the two holes of the box.
Therefore, you can drop the coin through the unobstructed holes.
After the penetration act, tilt the box forward, to let the glass piece drop back into the wooden box and closed the pivoted door.
Now, let’s focus on the steel ball goes through glass trick.
Steel Ball Through Glass Trick Explained
I though most probably, the method of the steel ball through glass should be the same as the Ching Ling Coin Box.
These two pictures below you can see the secret pivoted door opening at the side of the box.
Let’s go through some of these steel ball through glass trick demo video clips.
How To Do Steel Ball Through Glass Trick
At the onset he uses his left hand fingers to hide the gimmick side of the box.
Then when he is ready to perform, he turns the gimmick side of the box around, towards him.
With the closed box, at 0:27 to 0:32, his left middle finger opens the pivoted door on the side of the box.
Now you can see the red color table top through the opening as shown below.
Then he quickly turns the box around, and tilts the box, to let the glass piece drops into his right palm.
After the trick, at 0:43 to 0:44, his right palm pushes the glass piece back into the box.
Before he opens the box, at 0:46, his right thumb pushes the pivot door down to its original position.
The next video clip, at 0:58, the magician’s right index finger together with his thumb pushes down the pivoted door to open it, just before he closes the cover.
Then he tilts the box backward, before he clasps the cover.
Once the trick is over, at 1:26 he tilts the box forward to drop the glass back into the box.
Next his right thumb closes the pivot door.
He does this with one smooth move to get the glass piece safely drop back to bottom of the box.
At at 0:34, this performer uses his thumb to push down the pivot door, before closing the lid.
Then at 0:37, he tilts the box backward to drop the glass piece into the palm of his left hand.
At the end of the trick at 0:50, his right hand fingers closes up the pivoted door.
In this video, his index finger closes up the pivoted door and quickly turns the box around at 0:08.
As you can see from the picture below, the pivoted door is not properly closed back.
From this video, at 0:22, this performer places two fingers on the pivot door, turns it, as he closes the cover and followed with a quick tilt of the box.
Below this guy using his right thumb to press on the pivot door, closes the cover, and then tilts the box downwards to drop the glass onto the palm of his left hand at 1:14.
In fact, you can play around with this glass piece to make the penetration effect more magical, as shown by the Funtime Magic video below.
His handling is more like the what they perform with John Snyder Jr’s steel ball through glass version or the Cabala effect by Dave Powell Magic Company.
He makes the steel ball as if it slowly melts though the glass piece.
He plays around with the glass piece with his fingers.
His fingers of both hands press down on the edge of the glass piece, to lift it up, thus keeping the steel ball balancing in the hole.
Then he gingerly let down the glass piece, so the steel ball bearing will slip and falls through the hole below the box.
Watch carefully, you can see the lid moving slightly at 0:46, as as he plays with the glass piece.
To conclude his act, from 1:01, with one move, his left thumb pushes back the pivot door and the glass drops back into the box.
To distract your attention away from the box, he taps the steel ball a few times on the table, before he opens it.
Well, this is the steel ball through glass trick revealed how the penetration trick is done.
RELATED TRICKS: There is another magic prop by Viking Magic called “Marbo Card Penetration“.
Instead of a glass piece, this trick uses a piece of card or a playing card as an obstacle.
This is the Marbo Card Penetration secret.
In addition, check out how Pete Firman’s Ruler Through Ching Ling Coin Box Trick is done.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own or upload any of the books here. They are copyrighted to their respective owners. All content cited is derived from their respective sources.