The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

We've got a lot less space since moving, so I'm trying to find a way to store and display several tabletop machines in a fairly compact area... so they can't have individual tables or stands... I thought maybe a decent shelving system might work, something three or four feet wide by a 18-24 inches deep and about 6 or six and a half feet tall... I've found a few things at home depot and lowes...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Muscle-Rack ... /305553565

... but I was wondering whether anyone might have any ideas for something that has more of an authentic or period look... I'm really hoping to avoid building something myself. Ideally it will hold about a dozen or so machines, and I would just keep a decent table nearby for whenever I wanted to use one.

Any recommendations or photos would really be appreciated. Thanks.

What kind of tabletop machines do you have?

Django wrote:What kind of tabletop machines do you have?

I’m not sure what difference that makes but for this, I’d mainly be storing Victor, Pathé and maybe a couple Edison cylinder machines, all internal horn except for the Edisons obviously.

Hi Brian- For about 25 years I have used the shelf supports as shown below. They come in various colors and various lengths. I believe I got them at Home Depot. They are very strong due to the double row of slots on the runners and double tabs on the metal supports. I made sure the runners were screwed directly into the wall studs with 3" screws. My deepest shelf is 20" (19" support arm) and about 60" wide. At one point I had three Victors on that shelf-- Victors 3, 4 and 6. My narrowest shelf is 12" deep. It now holds an extended arm "M" and a Vic Junior. At one point I had four Columbia front mounts side by side with horns facing forward on that shelf.
I've never had any issues with sagging. The only minor drawback is that the runners are surface mount so there is a ¾" gap at the wall. You could always place large flat filler boards on either side of the runners to create a flush application. My room is more utilitarian than stylish

hope this helps-

Brad Abell

brianu wrote:

Django wrote:What kind of tabletop machines do you have?

I’m not sure what difference that makes but for this, I’d mainly be storing Victor, Pathé and maybe a couple Edison cylinder machines, all internal horn except for the Edisons obviously.

I see the point- "Tabletop" could be anything from a suitcase portable to a Diamond Disc B-19- and beyond at both ends!

brianu wrote:

Django wrote:What kind of tabletop machines do you have?

I’m not sure what difference that makes but for this, I’d mainly be storing Victor, Pathé and maybe a couple Edison cylinder machines, all internal horn except for the Edisons obviously.

I didn’t mean anything by it. I was asking because of the weight, variety and the footprint. I have used shelves for cylinder machines. If the machines are heavy, especially going as tall as you are planning to, I would want the shelf secured to the wall studs. Shelves that are deep enough for a tabletop Victrola are not very common. If it was me, I would make the lower shelf like a table and store records below, the table could be very basic and covered with a tablecloth that could also hide the storage below. An antique library table would work very well. They can be had for very little money in my area.

I have made some nice shelves from damaged antique tables, (an un-restorable reed organ or piano case can make a good shelf). There are also nice, antique type shelf brackets available that work well for cylinder machines. They enhance the display. Antique servers can often be picked up at a reasonable price and often provide a deep platform, storage and a shelf, and they look nice too.

The solution is to buy an equal number of floor model machines.

outune wrote:Hi Brian- For about 25 years I have used the shelf supports as shown below. They come in various colors and various lengths. I believe I got them at Home Depot. They are very strong due to the double row of slots on the runners and double tabs on the metal supports. I made sure the runners were screwed directly into the wall studs with 3" screws. My deepest shelf is 20" (19" support arm) and about 60" wide. At one point I had three Victors on that shelf-- Victors 3, 4 and 6. My narrowest shelf is 12" deep. It now holds an extended arm "M" and a Vic Junior. At one point I had four Columbia front mounts side by side with horns facing forward on that shelf.
I've never had any issues with sagging. The only minor drawback is that the runners are surface mount so there is a ¾" gap at the wall. You could always place large flat filler boards on either side of the runners to create a flush application. My room is more utilitarian than stylish

hope this helps-

Brad Abell

I considered something like that but wanted to avoid putting so many holes in the wall if I could... I’m also concerned that the weight would be a bit too much... many of these machines are full size lidded tabletop players, not as heavy as a VV IX but at least as much as or more than a IV or VI if that makes any sense.

Django wrote:

brianu wrote:

Django wrote:What kind of tabletop machines do you have?

I’m not sure what difference that makes but for this, I’d mainly be storing Victor, Pathé and maybe a couple Edison cylinder machines, all internal horn except for the Edisons obviously.

I didn’t mean anything by it. I was asking because of the weight, variety and the footprint. I have used shelves for cylinder machines. If the machines are heavy, especially going as tall as you are planning to, I would want the shelf secured to the wall studs. Shelves that are deep enough for a tabletop Victrola are not very common. If it was me, I would make the lower shelf like a table and store records below, the table could be very basic and covered with a tablecloth that could also hide the storage below. An antique library table would work very well. They can be had for very little money in my area.

I have made some nice shelves from damaged antique tables, (an un-restorable reed organ or piano case can make a good shelf). There are also nice, antique type shelf brackets available that work well for cylinder machines. They enhance the display. Antique servers can often be picked up at a reasonable price and often provide a deep platform, storage and a shelf, and they look nice too.

Nice set ups... and I used to use larger tables, a library table, but in this instance I’m really looking to maximize the space... for example, here’s a photo of what I’m using to store some of my more basic machines in the workroom...

Retrograde wrote:The solution is to buy an equal number of floor model machines.

Ha, I probably already have enough, just getting too old to drag them all upstairs where these table models will be living.