78 records still get a bad reputation.

[FloridaClay]

Medium Density Fiberboard. Should be readily available at your local lumberyard, Home Depot, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-density_fibreboard

Clay

[epigramophone]

If you decide to use MDF, wear a face mask and goggles when cutting it, as the dust is extremely irritating and potentially harmful if inhaled.

MDF is also very heavy, so make sure your floor is strong enough to take the weight.

[dennman6]

I'd say it depends on what they're made from. 18mm MDF (painted) in my case, which is very stable and bears a lot of weight without bowing, so mine are 12 to 13" between dividers (which are less deep than the shelves). All fine and dead straight for nearly 10 years now!

That's Charlie McCarthy guarding your collection, isn't it? Also, what is the phono on the left with green horn & crank visible? Nice shelves! I've resorted to metal shelving from Lowe's in the garage since the nearest Ikea for the desired Expedit shelves is about 2-½ hours away & I have no truck or van

[Orchorsol]

I'd say it depends on what they're made from. 18mm MDF (painted) in my case, which is very stable and bears a lot of weight without bowing, so mine are 12 to 13" between dividers (which are less deep than the shelves). All fine and dead straight for nearly 10 years now!

That's Charlie McCarthy guarding your collection, isn't it? Also, what is the phono on the left with green horn & crank visible? Nice shelves! I've resorted to metal shelving from Lowe's in the garage since the nearest Ikea for the desired Expedit shelves is about 2-½ hours away & I have no truck or van

Thanks! The machine with the green horn is actually a Frankenphone... embarrassing in the present company on this forum, really! But it has definite uses. I slung it together a few years ago out of various parts I had lying around. The case (originally an HMV hornless tabletop) is unrestorable as someone sawed the rear part of the base off years ago - it was in use as a sewing box when I bought it for next to nothing. I play 78s out and about in various guises, for fun - antiques fairs, 78 DJing, and some lecture demonstrations soon at the University where I work. The Frankenphone sounds good, looks vaguely the part and is expendable; it doesn't matter if it gets knocks and bumps, or worse. This week I'm picking up a huge papier mache horn which another enthusiast made, a rough copy of an EMG horn, which will fit it too - for the same purpose.

Yes, a Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist's dummy, complete except for his monocle! He comes into play in one of the bands I'm in, mouthing the vocalist's words at times... maybe I should do the same when playing 78s to people!

[CarGuyZM10]

I think 78's get a bad reputation not only because they are considered "old", but when people find them and get curious, they do not play them properly, and get a poor quality sound. As for me, I always seem to have trouble finding them when I am at antique shops and flea markets.

As for storage, this is what my Dad and I built this summer for me.

It is wooden dowels supported by wood. The bottom two levels were built to hold 10 and 12 inch 78's, and the top is to hold 7 inch 45's. Each shelf is slightly towards the back, so the weight leans into the wall, which it is fastened into (more specifically the studs).

[Edisone]

Dowels as shelving! Very clever!

I've used regular framing lumber, 2x14 & carefully selected for the best grain, no warps, and fewest knots, to build some shelves. Sanded a bit & coated with shellac, they're not bad. Problem I've had with them: I can't put a back on them, because they won't be deep enough for 12" records, so every record MUST be in an envelope to prevent rollage.

I might try adding 2x2 onto the back of each shelf, to provide the needed depth for a back or at least a rail to keep the records from rolling back (and yes, I've lost a few discs that way!) If the Home Despot starts carrying 2x16, I'll use that in the future.

[phonojim]

You could use a biscuit joiner to add extra width. It's a n easy way to get strong, accurate joints.

Jim

[syncopeter]

Each and every 78 I bought in the 2nd half of my collecting career was put in a paper sleeve - preferably original, but if not in a blank one - and stored vertically in an IKEA shelving system that was immensely strong. Over 20 years of collecting and two house moves I broke only 4 records out of a collection of 3,500 discs. I used board separators every 50 discs.
Apart from that I've always been hesitant to buy records without sleeves.

[NEFaurora]

I have to agree with the previous poster... 78's really get no respect... Most people do not even know what they are, or how to play them...so they get tossed... People just think they are old records that probably sound horrible..especially when found with no sleeves...and they think that they sound like modern 33's...Snap..Crackle..pop...hiss.....You get the idea of what they think..

Edison type Cylinders seem to get much more respect....People know that they are old and different and probably worth something and worth saving..so they put them aside....even if some of them are moldy black wax and useless...

My 2 cents..

Tony K.

[epigramophone]

It has been my experience that you are more likely to find a cylinder without a box than a disc without a sleeve.

Those fancy cylinder storage cabinets with wooden pegs over which the cylinders were placed made their boxes redundant, and I suspect that most owners then discarded them. The card and/or fibre board storage boxes with multiple velvet lined compartments also did away with the need for individual boxes.

This may explain why empty cylinder boxes are saleable whereas empty sleeves, unless of great rarity or interest, are not.