The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I am 98% sure I will be moving in the next 3-6 months. I have pretty good ideas about packing machines - remove loose parts, reproducers, turntables, grills, etc., immobilize moving parts, and so on, having moved many machines locally. Any further tips are of course welcome.

I could use advice about packing up hundreds of records, both cylinder and disc, for travel. What do people do when moving these? What kind of boxes and padding? How many to a box? Single or double box? Any other assistance you can give would be great.

Thanks in advance!

I can't offer much advice on moving the machines. When I moved into my apartment over the summer, the majority of the stuff I moved WAS the collection . But for the records... I called Chick Fil A and asked them to save the fry boxes. The boxes are pretty study and fit a good amount of records (in my case exactly one cubby worth). I didn't break a single record during the move. I just packed em straight into the box, taped it securely shut, and carefully put each box in the Uhaul. I then used a dolly to get them all up to my apartment.

For the cylinders it did pretty much the same thing, except I heavily padded the box with newspaper and didn't overpack each box.

Hope that helps!

(the fry boxes are free by the way)

David

If you're talking about 12" album sets, liquor stores are--or, at least, were, the last time I moved records--a good source of well-sized boxes. Fill each box tight and alternate the direction of the spines to keep the pack even. If you have a choice, put laminated Columbia pressings outside and Victor-style pressings to the center; the laminated ones are sturdier. Or put a few junkers outermost to take any damage that may happen.

I own many 12" 78 rpm classical album sets. When I moved 20 years ago, I was already working a new job 1000 miles away, so I was not around to pack my own records. So the movers packed them using standard "book boxes." Problems: Not enough cushioning and the boxes were too heavy. While most records arrived OK, some were cracked or broken. I have no idea whether any of the heavy boxes were dropped.

When I retired and moved again 3 years ago, I was able to pack my own records. I found special boxes in an odd size at ULINE that worked well. Since 12" 78 rpm albums are about 12 ⅜ inches by 14 inches, I looked for a box that was a bit larger, so I could add styrofoam cut from 4 X 8 ft sheets to all sides inside the box. The boxes I bought at ULINE were 16" long X 12" wide X 14" tall (ULINE item S-21054). I also added a ⅛ inch thick piece of Masonite in the bottom of each box for additional protection. I only filled each box about half to ⅔ full to keep the weight reasonable for each box. I used crumbled newspaper to fill the voids.

This may seem like overkill vs free or cheap boxes, but as I was already spending many thousands of dollars on the move using a professional moving company, I felt it was a small price to pay. So far, I have not discovered any cracked or broken records. I used the same boxes for my Edison cylinders, and they arrived safely also.

Good luck with your move!

Well Kev, I hope the move is close, so you will still be able to make it to The Wayne Show.