How Are The Older Scott "Big Blue" Albums Held Together?

Hi,
I'm fixin (that's Texan) to pick up a couple of Scott International albums - part 1 (copyright 1943 and part 2 (copyright 1955). My intent is to pull the US pages out, which should leave some room for future blank pages.

How are the pages held in place, and what kind of job is it to do what I just described?

Thanks all!
Mobilman44

All of the Big Blues are held together with two metal posts and rods. One slides one rod out, and the binder comes open, and one can take out, replace or add pages along the posts. Not as quick as a three ring binder, but more sturdy. One then slides the rod back in the binder, threading through the end holes of the posts, and Big Blue is again intact.

Thanks!
Well, that makes sense (from the pics I've seen) and sounds like "no big deal". I didn't think it would be, but I have read some comments from folks who dreaded the process.

Mobilman44

And while you are waiting for your Big Blues to arrive, there are a couple of blogs focused (mostly) on them.

http://globalstamps.blogspot.com/

Bob Skinner's "Filling Spaces" blog is full of information on his attempt to collect to the Blue album, and is very well written.

http://bigblue1840-1940.blogspot.com/

And if I might shamelessly mention my blog, which has a Big Blue checklist.

One of the reasons some people dread it is if they have to remove/insert some pages in the middle of the album. It is not like a snap-ring binder, where you can simply open the album to the page you want, and then pop open the binder. To get to the middle pages, you have to remove all the pages from one end of the binder, make the change, and then put all those pages back. It's much easier when the pages are brand new, a little tougher when the pages are slightly worn or full of stamps. Fortunately, in general, you should rarely have to do this.

For worn pages, you can either use spare posts (or straws, depending on hole-punch shape) to keep the removed pages lined up properly while they are out of the album.

khj: thanks for the use of straws tip. I've used the blue Internationals for 30 years now and have to get into them occasionally. I never thought of that.

One thing to watch out for is that you can miss the internal guides that the rod is meant to go through, and find yourself at best not being alble to align the rod with the holes in the hinges, or, at worst, having punch through the binding cloth. Why no, I've never done that myself, why do you ask? Well, maybe once.

I don't know whether this picture taken with my phone makes any sense, but the green arrow marks where the rod goes into the internal guides.



I also highly recommend applying some page reinforcements to the first few pages while you have the album apart. (I'm assuming you aren't planning to permanently keep these albums so won't digress into the need for interleaving.)

An excellent suggestion. The holes on the first/last few pages get stretched/torn fairly easily. I may have gotten a bad batch of reinforcements, because I did have problems with the reinforcements popping off after a couple of years of handling. The other option is to put some extra blank pages at front/back, or what I did later on was put in a cardstock page at front/back.

Thanks folks, all good info.
I did some preventive maintainence on my Nationals, and put clear "permanent reinforcement labels" from the local Office Depot store.

The one sided page Nationals can get away without interleaving (my thought anyway), but the two sided pages of the Big Blue's may very well need them. We will see........

I guess I had no patience when it came to turning pages. I had a LOT of problems with stamps catching on to other stamps on facing pages as they started to fill up. While I don't recall an instance of any stamps actually getting damaged (although a few got yanked diagonally on their hinges), I had a choice of either turning pages slowly or using interleaving. While I don't mind empty stamp spaces on album pages, when I realized how many stamps I had that didn't have spots in the album, that pretty much decided things for me.

I strongly advise AGAINST using clear interleaving. They may look nice, but they will "suck" on the stamps.

Hi 1840to1940

If that is the edge of your binder it looks like it went thru a war.

Jerry B

There is a easy method of working with the International binders and that is not to hurry and lay it out in organized way. The first error people make is to remove too many pages at a time .Take only 1/4 inch of pages out at a time about 10 or 15 pages. Make a stack with them so that each group is staggered on top of each other ,this makes it easy to reinsert the pages in order.
I even install S.G. pages into my Internationals by cutting 1/4 INCH off the bottom and off the inside edge and use a extra hole puncher that is adjusted to the holes of the Scott Internationals.I take a binder apart about on a regular basis and after a few times you find it a common practice .