Button Storage?

[Jelly Terror]

I hope he won't mind me passing this on, but a forum pal stores his button collection (if memory serves) in the following manner:

1) Drawer(s) fitted with a sheet of pegboard covered in fabric of choice [the drawer already having had battening secured along the inside for pegboard to sit on]
2) Buttons have a length of fishing line attached to the shank with a small weight at the other end of the line
3) The weighted end of the line is fed through the felt/hole in the pegboard
4) The buttons are held nicely in place on the felt/board and evenly spaced by dint of the regular hole spaces in the pegboard
5) The buttons can be lifted out for inspection without having to be detached from the line
6) If you wish to remove the buttons completely from the line/drawer, the line can be attached initially using a small, nylon hook rather than attached directly to the button shank.

(Please excuse the crude illustration):

Button Display.jpg

Regards,

JT

[Tinto]

Originally Posted by Tinto

Hello Roy,
I like mounting buttons on old webbing belts:

http://www.britishbadgeforum.com/for...hp?albumid=346

Cheers,
John

Hi again,
Here is a drawer showing button belts in storage. I do have buttons mounted on cards as well.
Cheers, John

[Rob Miller]

I've been watching this thread with interest, over the last 35 years of button collecting I've tried various ways of storage and display without really finding the answer. At the moment most of my buttons are on pierced cards in narrow steel filing draws, but some of my earlier buttons are without shanks and do escape from time to time, but I don't think I will glue a tag on the back.

And as the back of the button is equally as interesting as the front I still need a better answer too.

Rob

[GTB]

I prefer to display buttons mounted on fablon/felt backing and then framed. Scan of one such card awaiting framing. All sorts of old period frames can be acquired at boot sales, etc.

GTB

[41st]

This is how my buttons are stored in the lever arch folder.

[irish]

Hello Roy,

I have used a very simple system. If you google Ruddles Mills Products you will find riker mounts with lucite cups. These vary in size of cup. Have worked well for me. holds buttons firmly and are clearly visible and accessible. The riker mounts stack neatly.

This group attends all large militaria shows here in the U.S. I am not associated with the company.

Happy New Year
Jack

[Roy]

Hi Gents,

I wanted to update this post as my new button storage box has arrived and wanted to share some photos and thoughts.

Overall I'm very pleased with it. I grabbed it off ebay (USA) for $26.50 with free shipping. Size is around 14x10x2 (inches) and it is sold as a ring display box with enough space for 100 items.

I would not use this for transport as the buttons are not held securely enough. However for storage and display in the home, it's totally fine as the button shanks easily fit into the foam slits. With one hundred spaces there is plenty of room for me to spread out the buttons and grow the collection.

I like that this has two latches, a glass top for viewing and also the flat external profile for stacking.

At the moment you can see I have just inserted my Local Militia buttons to give it a try and I'm very pleased indeed. I will plan to get some more of these, so I can have one for each area of my button collecting.

I would not have thought of this idea without the assistance of members, so my sincere gratitude.

Cheers,

Roy

[Keith Blakeman]

Mine are kept in those little plastic boxes that Chinese or Indian take aways come in.

[janner305]

Hi Roy,

My system is based on the old "cardex" type storage cabinets often seen in offices, but now largely replaced by office computers.

I managed to acquire a 42-drawer cabinet, each drawer being about an inch deep and seemingly ideal for buttons.

I planned and manufactured a plywood sheet holder for each drawer and with some careful adjustments could display 60 buttons of 1" diameter in each drawer in 12 rows of 6.

The 1/16" sheet of ply is supported by 18mm x 12mm battens in such a way as to not interfere with the buttons themselves. A template was produced and used to mark on the plywood the positions of all 60 buttons, and these were then drilled out to form small slots, with the aid of a modellers drill and milling cutter.

All a bit involved I know, but I think the finished article has repayed the amount of work, and I found a sort of production line helped immensely with some panels being glued, some being marked out and yet others being milled for the button hasps.

The sheets are covered in felt, glued to the plywood and then cut through from the plywood slots for the button hasps. I use a variety of colours; scarlet for the infantry especially pre 1902; rifle green for volunteer rifle corps, and navy blue, black and light grey all have their place.

Buttons are retained in their slots by a piece of copper wire through their loops, mine were liberated from some domestic mains cable and each tray is accompanied by a laminated double-sided sheet showing on one side the button position in the tray and on the reverse, the key for identification.

I have enclosed some photos to show how the system was made

Although only partly populated at the moment as I have some 1700 buttons, the cabinet is capable of holding over 2500. The cabinet itself takes up only a modest area of floorspace

Regards

Barry

PS I'm afraid the photos are in a bit of a muddle, but should illustrate the way I have done it.

IMG_8543.jpg

IMG_8544.jpg

IMG_8526.jpg

IMG_8542.jpg

IMG_8545.jpg

IMG_8528.jpg

IMG_8530.jpg

IMG_8531.jpg

[CAM]

It is certainly something that requires a lot of thought. If you are going to collect a lot of buttons think how you want them shown e.g. Order of Precedence and over what period. Otherwise you may have to remount them if you decide to widen the period or add variants e.g WM or Br (I speak from experience when I increased attachments 3 and 4 and I think I have also missed a couple from attachments 2 and 8). In the latter case think how you can add them rather than adjust.

The glass fronted cases make things easier to move around and I have used some of these too. The ones shown in attachments 5 and 6 measure appx 37 x 20 cm but I think you can get larger display cases up to appx 37 x 60 cm, which, if i were to start again, I would go for. Cap buttons which I don't collect but have a couple I just add to a card attachment 7 and medium brass ones - attachment 1 - I keep on a board until I decide what to do (probably go for the larger glass fronted case).

I suppose it's a variation of the adage measure twice, cut once.

Hope this helps

Chris

[CAM]

But I do like Barry's!

Chris

[Roy]

There has been some really interesting storage systems shown.

Thank you gents.

Of course the upshot is there are clearly some crackerjack collections out there too. Really lovely to see all this gents.

Cheers,

Roy

[KOMalta]

I prefer having them displayed so that I could have accessibility and could enjoy them at my leisure. I had them framed and put felt on the background. But basically it boils down to preference and the amount of buttons in your collection.