Self Welding Chain

I used to be a chain smoker. Now I’m a chain welder. Inspired by an old apparatus trick I used to have (Deluxe Chain Welding), I’ve created this small and simple little miracle.

Effect:

A few loose pieces of chain are dropped into your closed fist. A little heat from a lighter and the pieces weld together into one chain.

Method:

Two chains, a Thumb Tip (TT) and a lighter. The end. Go to the dollar store and buy two super thin cheap necklaces. You can get the kind of chain needed from Walmart as well if you don’t have a dollar store near by. The kind of chain you want is the kind that you can easily break with your bare hands. The cheaper the better.

You may be able to get away with only one chain if it’s long enough. What you ultimately need is two small chains that are bracelet-sized. They need to be the exact same length. Then cut one of them into thirds. So now you have two bracelets. One broken one (broken into thirds) and one complete one.

I call them bracelets, but there’s no clasp on them (unless you want to take the time to put clasps on them). They’re just bracelet length. Have a TT and a lighter in your right pocket. The broken pieces can be in a coin purse or a small envelope or whatever suits you.

Hand out the envelope and have the spectator remove and “examine” the contents (three pieces of a bracelet). While they’re doing that, load the TT on your right hand and get the whole bracelet in left hand finger palm. Load the TT into the left hand fist (or you can start by having the TT and the whole chain in your left pocket and get them all in place while the broken chain is being looked at). Drop the three broken pieces into your closed left fist. As you place the third (last) piece into the TT, load it on your right thumb.

As you go to your right pocket for the lighter, ditch the TT and bring the lighter out. Light it and wave it around your left hand. Place the lighter aside and slowly open your left hand to show the fully restored chain. Everything is examinable and your hands are 100% empty. There’s nothing to hide.