Hello MMDers.  I have been reading about the proper storage of metal
music box disks.  The vertical vs. horizontal storage have been the
main interest, but, there have been references to rust on the disks.

As a child in Kentucky, USA, my grandmother had a large music box
machine, as she called it, with about 300 disks.  I would guess they
were about 20" in diameter.  My grandfather built her a cabinet in
which to store them vertically.  He had placed concave wooden cross
supports, covered with felt, to hold the edges of the rolls with no
damage.

Across the front, the upright wooden pieces had a concave area in
which one could easily grasp the leading edge of each disk and roll it
forward to remove the disk from the cabinet.  Each disk had its own
slots that made the disks have three-point support, two on bottom and
one at the back of the cabinet.  As I remember, there were 10 disks in
each section.  Each section had separate doors and I think there were
3 or 4 vertical sections.

I wish I could remember the make of the music box as it was my
grandmother's pride and joy.  I was allowed to change the disks only
after "training" in the proper procedures.  Only one disk was allowed
out of the cabinet at a time.

My main point of this was the rust problem.  My grandfather used an
electric heating rod to drive the moisture out of the cabinet.  To
my knowledge, there was never any warping of the wood due to the
dehumidifying rod.  The cabinet was almost "built-in" due to the size
and complexity, but was a beautiful piece of workmanship and finish.
I seem to remember that it was black walnut throughout. They had about
300 walnut trees on a separate farm and walnut was commonly used around
the house.

The music box was to have been left to me but between my grandmothers
passing away in 1954 and the reading of the will, it, the disks and the
cabinet disappeared.  I would love to see it again.  I am told that I
still have a legal claim to it.

Still tooting away with my calliope in the Atlanta, GA, area.

Dean Smith