But I don't store them in a way that lighting of any kind can destroy the coloring of plastics or decals. If light can't get at it easily, I can't see it either. So this means each one is in it's own little tube, then stored in dark cabinets. Those are then loaded up in larger Plano flat storage boxes, at what I think is 16 or so at a time. Newer motors (last 15-20 years) end up tossed in the Plano boxes about 36 to a box, I figure I'll deal with those later (fix, store, sort, etc).
The coin tubes I've been using seem to be just tight enough that if you're not careful, they'll catch a sticker edge or endbell tape. So I'm kind of wondering if there is a better solution for those.
And the bag'd and packaged stuff. That's a different situation entirely. Every time you handle it, it gets worse, and they take up lot's of room.
here's a small sample of each situation, boxed newer, coin tube older, and random packaged motors. I suppose I might have... 3500 or so motors, and I'd like to start getting a better handle on it. And I know from experience they don't display well without fading.
Storage for newer stuff, looks like this.
random packaged stuff, just gets binned and stored away. No rhyme or reason to it. As they accumulate they end up in a bin. Bin gets full, I start another bin. Every time you go through the bins, you compromise the packaging.
The coin tubes. Loose motors end up in these. But I dislike how tight they are, and how you can catch a decal edge or endbell tape, and there is not enough room to typically hold wires that some vintage motors have on them. I bought a few thousand of the coin tubes before that lady went out of business. They're square, so they stack well, but I'd be more comfortable if there was an extra 3-4mm of room in the diameter of those.
I have come to the conclusion that I don't really need an endless amount of stuff. I'd rather keep what I seriously like, care for it as best I can and move everything else on to others who also love this stuff.
