Jim Grab asks about storing music box discs.  In my opinion, I think
the best way of storing any discs including phonograph records, is
vertically.  That means at or near vertical.  A slight tilt will let
them sag, which adds another warp to the disc which can be bad.

This is especially true of the occasional "gray" discs, which are not
bright steel.  Some kind of cheaper alloy, they will definitely sag and
can then cause a lot of problems.  They also tend to oxidize and then
shed the powder.  These need support or could be stored horizontally,
but most of the steel discs do not.

At one time I had hundreds of music box "tune sheets", as they were
called originally.  Some stacks were up to 6 or 8 inches thick.  I found
the best way to handle them in volume was to put a bolt through the
center hole with a washer on each side, and thumbscrew nut or regular
nut.  Apply enough pressure to hold them all together like a giant
wheel, but not enough to damage the lugs on the bottom.  You don't want
the separate discs rotating against each other.

The idea of facing plain surfaces together alternating with some kind
of cushioning between the lugged surfaces I don't think is good, for
several reasons.  Depending on what the cushioning is, it could cause
problems by catching when removing a disc, and snap off lugs or leave
debris behind which could foul starwheels and comb teeth.  Also, such
cushioning could act like a sponge, collecting moisture which would
then rust the lugs and cause further damage.

I made it a practice to keep the discs all facing the same way.  Most
disc music box cases have wooden dividers about 1" apart, to allow for
up to a few discs in each section.  Such a stand is very useful.  Some
boxes (especially the Stellas) have a draw in the bottom section of the
machine itself for discs.  This is fine for Stella discs, but I wouldn't
suggest keeping more than ten discs or so if they are not Stella discs.
Generally, of course, the lugged discs are perhaps 4-5 times as thick
as the Stella ones, so most such drawers won't hold more than that
number anyway.

These tune discs are more sturdy and less fragile than one might think.
I seem to recall advertising by one company showing a man standing on
a substantial stack of tune sheets.  It may have been for Stella, the
point being that they had no lugs.  As long as discs are handled
carefully when pulling a disc or two out of a pile (watch that sideways
motion!), they'll stand up well for many years.  That sideways motion,
by the way, can really mess up the surface of phonograph records, too.

Stella discs, of course, are the greatest system: no lugs to get
caught, bend, fold, break, warp, or chip.  But one must be particularly
careful to make sure that the spring-loaded starwheels on the Stella
instrument are free and working properly, and that there are no rust
spots on the bottom of the discs which could cause a star wheel to turn
when in its retracted position, which is disastrous.

Many original discs were supplied, in their bright and shiny days,
inserted in translucent envelopes.  I don't know what one would call
the material, but it was like oiled paper, and the discs themselves had
a film of oil on them to prevent rusting.  It's a good idea to check
discs to see if there are any pieces of that paper stuck to the lugs,
or little rust buildups here and there.  These can raise the devil with
one's starwheels -- and one doesn't want one's starwheels bedeviled!

Hope this is helpful.

Lee Munsick
Appomattox County, South Side Virginia USA