As an old-time and experienced record mover, let me
drop in my 2 cents worth.
10" records dropped in flat into a 10x10 leaves no
room for slightly oversize discs, sleeves, whatever.
I use an 11 x 11 box. The bottom is
three or four 10" corrogated squares, the
lines of each facing 90 degrees from that above and below it. I then
package 15 or 20, strapped with packing tape on all four sides to two or
three cardboard squares at top and bottom with one or two in the middle of
the sandwich. Fill to nearly the top, finishing it off with another 3
pad pack as on the bottom. Insert 10" squares down the sides so the
records are more-or-less centered.
Remove all records from albums and sleeve them, if
possible. Otherwise, use some kind of paper squares 10" by 10" approx in
lieu of sleeves, this keeps the surfaces from rubbing. Package
the albums separately. It porobably costs more to ship the generic albums
then they are worth. Discard them at
the point of origin.
Set up a record player in the unpacking area so you
can enjoy highlights from one box while unpacking the next.
Steve Smolian
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, February 02, 2004 12:14
PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] 78 RPM Packing
Advice Requested
Thanks to everyone for the very helpful and informative
replies. I do have a couple of follow up questions:
Your best bet would be 11" x 11" x 11" boxes (or 12" x 12" x 12"), the
records packed vertically (standing on end) tightly within but without
bulging and then use crushed newspaper to pad, as you suggest.
Is there any particular reason that 11" x 11" x 11" would be better than
10"x10"x10"? The 10" inch box would certainly make for a tighter
fit. Is the concern based on the fact that, with a 10" box, the edge of
the records would be touching the interior walls on all 4 sides? The 10"
boxes are about 20 percent less expensive than the 11" boxes - but since my
main concern is that the records arrive in good shape, that price difference
is certainly not my deciding factor.
You can leave the 10" records in the albums, but I cut all the sleeves
out
with an Xacto knife and tossed the cardboard outers and saved some
space and
weight.
I am going to want to keep the storage albums as I have a feeling that
I will have an easier time getting some of my money back by selling them than
I will finding someone who wants the records that don't match my listening
tastes.
What is the best way to pack the filled albums? Yesterday, I
experimented with a 12"x12"x12" box and found that 10 inch albums fit very
nicely inside. Obviously, I would want to make sure that the top edge of the
albums all face in the same direction and that the box is oriented so the
records are vertical. My concern is with the safety of records that
might be in albums that may have only 1 or 2 out of 10 sleeves filled. I
have not seen the collection in person, so I am not sure what percentage
of such albums there may be. When I look at empty or nearly empty
albums, I notice that the ends of the covers come together at an angel.
Completely filled albums, on the other hand, form a perfect rectangle and the
records appear to be flat against each other. If a partially filled album were
packed between a bunch of other albums which were completely filled, would the
records in that album be at extra risk - or is the spine of the album cover
designed to prevent that from happening? Is it recommended that, once in
the box, the spine of the album covers all face in the same direction as they
would if they were placed on a shelf? Or is it better to alternate the
direction of the spine on each album? I have never really trusted albums
so I rarely use them.
Thanks again for all the help.
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