2. analog
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storing vinyl, reducing damage over many years

Hi -

I bought 3 of these that I have stacked successfully one on top of each other and filled with albums:

http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RR-OAK-UN

(I didn't buy it directly there, I bought it on ETSY, but the etsy link no longer appears valid, so I am referencing this web link).

I was basically happy with everything, I did the assembly, everything is solid.

My question: will the lack of any support in the middle area of the albums, over many years, cause damage to the albums? I went through and find a certain percent of my albums were drooping down through damaged covers, so for now I have removed these. I don't know, some might say this is paranoid, but if they sit there for 10-20-30 years and ultimately some of them over time are damaged, it would bother me, so I figured I'd ask the question now.
joshl
saki70
853 posts
 
Unless you are REALLY into the unfinished wood look , check out your local Ikea store . They have some stands that are quite good for record storage . They are sturdy and made of plastic in a few different colors for less money . You can get different combinations of the square storage pieces in groups of 2 ,4 ,8 and 16 per unit . Each cubicle can easily hold 60 albums in the preferred upright direction .
One 16 cubicle stand can easily hold a thousand albums and it is assembled as a one piece stand . Accessible both from the front and back with a solid shelf supporting the bottoms of the albums .
Probably a matter of form vs function . Mine are stored in the guest room . If yours are out in the public area of the house then you may want to have a nice 'finished' wood piece of furniture on display .
joshl OP
26 posts
 
Thanks for all the ideas and responses. I'll see how things look once the boards arrive and I try to correct the wrong.

My main concern is that unless someone says something in a way that will get through to the seller, who is here:

http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RR-OAK-UN

it is possible that over the next several decades hundreds of thousands of vinyl albums, or more, will be damaged by their shelves.
joshl OP
26 posts
 
I would have considered buying one of these (a variant from the same seller that has the supportive bottom built in) if only I'd known about them before. I bought on etsy where these didn't seem to be there, as far as I knew.

http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/products.asp?dept=331
joshl OP
26 posts
 
Ok, I have received the 3 inlays, placed them in, they fit perfectly and have done the job. In the end I'm pleased with the overall product, ... everything seems solid. I appreciate the help of the people here in this forum in confirming that I was right to be concerned about the lack of a supporting shelf.

I submitted a review to the store that names my concern, constructively I hope and encourages them to consider the possibility of discontinuing selling the variant without the supportive inlay.
joshl OP
26 posts
 
It turns out, they did publish my review on their website, including my concerns about the support for the vinyl on the bottom, over many years:

http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RR-OAK-UN

So, I think if others are additionally concerned about vinyl archiving questions in general, and about whether the company's products could do some damage over the coming decades if they are distributed without the support shelves, perhaps it would be possible to take up the issue by communicating politely to the company that the concern may be well-founded. I didn't know enough about these issues to say so for certain.
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