Making My Own Drying Books

I have had my drying books for some years now and they needed replacing.

But to buy 4 new books with postage was going to cost the best part of $130 and it was just not going to be enough drying space for my needs as usual.

So I needed a change to my thinking so I decided to make my own drying books and try to make them so they were easier to dry out the blotting paper after use, as mildew has destroyed my drying books and I tried very hard to dry them properly and stop this problem from happening.

It has been very difficult to find blotting paper but managed to get 50 sheets 560mm x 450mm or 20ins x 171/2ins for 65c per sheet. A total cost $32.50

As a plastic sheet to go in between the blotting paper I have chosen a roll of a single sheet of plastic that is 330mm or 141/2ins wide and 15m or 19yards long cost a couple of $.

One of my drying books has 7 pages but the blotting paper is twice as thick as the sheets I purchased.

So after cutting up my blotting paper at double thickness I can make 14 plus drying books at an approx total cost of $40.

This is going to suit me spot on as in January I love to take heaps of stamps off paper and straighten 1,000's of stamps that have been rejected because of minor crinkle type creasing. And with ease I can spread out the blotting paper to dry properly.

It is so nice to get this part of stamping as neat as I can so as to keep my wife happy about being able to use her kitchen when it comes to soaking stamps.

Crikey, you should have adopted my freezer bag sandwiches
total cost $4, I have had mine 10 years and still producing
pristine flat stamps.
I cringe at the rip off these drying books cost to the unenlightened.

Rod222, can you say more about your freezer bag technique?

Some of those plastic page protecters have the type of plastic (only heavier) as the freezer bags. I've got some (I think they're made by Leitz). I lay the stamps out on a heavey gauze like towel for abot 30 minutes and then I
put them on the page protectors and cover them with some kitchen paper towels. After that, I put some heavy books on top and let them sit a few days.

Get yourself a watercolor blotter paper book a heavier gauge one and it'll work fantastic!

Yes Rod your layer of news paper and a freezer bag system works very nicely and I have used your method when I have run out of space.

I like to have my drying system the size of a stock book and have a clear definition of the layers of paper and plastic so it is easier to lift the layers apart when the stamp are still damp. Trying to do this with news paper that is still a bit moist will tear.

I like to take the modern stamps off paper and soak them for up to 24hrs and then press them for 24 hrs and then finish drying them in the open. I also do this with the reject stamps that have crinkle type creasing. It gives me the best result with these modern papers I find. Using blotting paper I find is best for the method I use.

GILLES:

You can find Rod222's "Freezer Bag" method in these threads:

https://goscf.com/t/19125

https://goscf.com/t/12959

Thanks Kirk :)

KGV, I really like your idea of making your own books. What sort of thickness blotting paper did you manage to get? and any particular type of plastic ?

Sorry I am a bit late in answering Maiden.

Blotting paper is 300G/M in thickness and I have decided it is thick enough so that gives me about 25 drying books. That will be half for now and half for in the future.

The plastic is very thin single layer called "go between" for freezing. We use it to in between the freezer bags of meat so they will come apart easy as.

I am very happy to this point with the way things have worked out.

Just received another 10kgs of charity mix of the last 4 years on paper. All basically letter rate kiloware.

We are sorting 2kgs per day and retrieving 25% + for soaking. Hopefully that will give us another 2 1/2kgs to soak. We are no longer saving definitive's which lowers our keeper rate greatly.

I know I have bought blotter paper from an art supply store in the chicago area. A 2ft by 3ft piece is about$2.50. The store is dick blick. I think they have other stores around the country.

$130 ? Desert Magic books are under $8 each. So 4 for $32 + $15 shipping = $47.00 and I'm thinking $15 is a liberal guess at the postage.

http://www.smartcart.com/gvstamps/c...em_num=SH507

Wow!

The cheapest Desert Magic Books in Australia I can find is a buy of 2 for $55 + postage.

My wholesale supplier will not sell them because of cost and it is his idea about making my own drying book that started all of this off. He even mentioned that Rod method is used extensively by the charities that are still taking stamps off paper that are worth there salt.

No wonder so many people from OZ are buying heaps of stuff from the USA etc.

My 10kgs(22lbs)of charity mix, all letter rate stamps (as people now use multiple letter rate stamps instead of high denomination stamps) from the last 4 years cost me $140 with mailing. We will retrieve about 25% of this for soaking.

What are others paying for this type of kiloware else where in Australia and the rest of the world?

10Kg !
John, you make my head hurt.

Thanks for the info KGV :)

Rod this info will do your head in.

My top shelf one and a half kgs of Australia international post kiloware on paper. All up has cost me over $1,250 . But I have rejected half a kg so it was for 2kgs (4 1/2lbs. But the profit is huge on this stuff. A very tough arena to bid in.

Of the 10 or so lots of Australia on paper high value stamps from the year 2000 on. I did not win one lot this year and I put in some very serious bids. Makes you think about what is going on behind the scenes with the people that are selling these stamps as singulars.

There is just so little of these stamps being used. It frightens me where recent high denomination stamps are heading price wise all round.