Vintage Record Cabinet

 
Regardless of the recent vinyl resurgence, LP’s are still far from being the dominant music medium. Sales are gaining in momentum, but the convenience of digital music is going to limit vinyl to a niche market (however a larger market which is only working in our favor).

When vinyl dominated in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, most households needed some means of storage for their music collection.

Today, it’s a bit tricky to find some affordable storage that will fit these 12 x 12 sleeves. Milk crates used to fit records when it was sold in gallons, but when milk converted to litres, these crates became just a little smaller no longer fitting albums. (Old milk crates still exist and are becoming quite sought after from collectors).

It seems that almost every shelving unit that is available at department stores is always just a little too small to fit an album, or they are not strong enough. Of course there are exceptions to this such as the Ikea Kallax (formerly Expedit) series shelves. These are super strong and fit albums perfectly, plus they are cheap. However, some people like myself don’t have an Ikea close by making this a difficult option (note: You can order the 2x2 kallax from Ikea and shipping is only $20).

But since many people had storage cabinets and shelves for their records in the 50’s-80’s, some of these units are still around. Most of the time condition seems to be an issue as they have been abused over the years, but every now and then you can find a nice vintage piece for cheap and in great condition. I lucked into one of these finds last week.

 

The only maintenance I did to this cabinet is a thorough cleaning, treating the wood with lemon oil, and polishing up the brass handle with steel wool and brasso. Very happy with how this turned out.