78 RPM Record storage

Hi I am looking for some sort of storage box or container for my 78 RPM record collection. I haven't had any luck so far. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Shawn

I know that Bags Unlimited has simple heavy duty cardboard storage boxes for 78s

SEE -- http://www.bagsunlimited.com/cart/browse.asp?subcat=44

They're nothing fancy, but the do the job, and keep the dust off.

I also spotted an interesting looking storage cabinet for sale on this site: http://consumertronics.net/surplus-sois/

HTH,
Joe_DS

Thanks for the help

I have a 78 storage cabinet. It is wood and similar in design to a columbia princess grafonola, but a little larger. It will hold 37 records. It is in fair condition and has a really neat feature. When you insert a record in the vertical slot, the record will roll back and raise the number tab. When you push down on the wooden number tab, it will roll out the record. The slots are wide enough to accomodate diamond discs also.

I use milk crates, with individual paper covers on the records.

Anything sturdy will do. Cardboard boxes or anything. I would consider that a temporary thing though. If you are bitten by the bug and plan to expand your collection of 78's I would highly recommend you build shelving units. Anticipate and don't build something too small that you are going to have to discard and make a bigger one later. You can always store books and other things on the shelves until it fills up with records.

Just remember they need to be stored vertically - not lying flat. The weight may cause weaker records in the bottom of the stack to break or crack. When building your shelves, put many dividers in. About one every foot. The idea is to keep that stack from going "WHOOMP" and shifting to one side popping the rim of the records and cracking them when you pull a portion of them off the shelf.

For a smaller collection put one cardboard filler pad behind each record as a cushion. You can buy cheap gallon size baggies at the dollar store to slide the record and the filler pad in to keep it all contained. That's more cost effective than buying commercial plastic sleeves unless you find a great deal. If you have a very large collection, it just gets too expensive to use cardboard - AND the bulk will increase and storage becomes a problem. Don't over crowd and wedge the records. You need a hint of some wiggle room. Not packed tight, tight, tight.

Make sure your shelving unit is on a concrete floor or you have supported the floor underneath the house. It can and will cause your floors to sag from the weight and I am speaking from experience. Shelves must be very sturdy and the shelving unit is very heavy as well without the records. You want to make sure you put a plywood back on the shelving unit for stability. Secure the unit to the wall. Screw it into studs in many places to help support the cabinet and distribute the weight.

Sounds hard and expensive but it's not. Wood is cheap. I just used drywall screws and have built several cabinets to store 78's. Better to do it right the first time than use something flimsy or set on the floor where you can kick them and break them.