I have collected over fifty years, am an APS Life Member and am going to ask a newbie question: just how do you properly insert stamps into open top mounts in a hingeless album? I ask because I keep winding up with pages full of mounts with the front sticking out from the page at anywhere from a 10 to a 25 degree angle once the stamp is inserted. It makes the page look ugly. I also worry about how secure the stamp is being held.
My procedure is to hold the stamp in tongs with my right hand, then to peel back the front of the mount with my left index finger, then insert the stamp. I can see nothing wrong with my technique. It does seem I have to be doing something incorrectly. Could I be pushing the mount down too far in the mount? Peeling back the front too much for insertion? I just bought a new hingeless album and fear I am ruining it.
BuckaCover.com - 80,000 covers priced 60c to $1.50 - Easy browsing 300 categories 26 Oct 2017 11:33:02am
re: Using a Hingeless Album, Advice Needed.
"Peeling back the front too much for insertion?"
Based on your description of the final result, I would say that this is likely your problem. If you peel back the top layer enough to "kink" the plastic at the bottom weld, it won't go back into place.
I have bought many collections in hingeless albums of this sort, and I have never encountered any where the mounts did not hold the stamps adequately, for anything but a drop on its head.
Roy
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Mystic Hingeless American Heirloom album. There is another thread on here that discussed this product and I mentioned this issue the other day on there, felt maybe a dedicated thread dealing with this issue might be helpful.
I took Roy's advice and instead of peeling back the front of the mount with a finger, tried gently opening it using my tongs then placing the stamp in the mount, being careful not to push it into the seam at the bottom. Same problem. One clue as to what's going on- I am noticing coil stamps fit jut fine in these mounts, those mounts lay nice and flat. Coils are a mm or so shorter than non coils. I think the mounts they installed are a mm or so too short for the job.
I am also noting that this problem goes away on many mounts over time, especially when I put some affected pages under weight for some time. I want to buy additional sections for this album but think I may just get the 'regular' version with no mounts and install my own. Hawid precuts for US regular stamps are 31 mm high. These measure 30 or so.
Have never seen any complaint like this about these albums. Sort of strange. BTW, I have a bit of an issue with a Davo album I have, the mounts in it are very close cut. Their mounts are of heavier plastic material so they do lie flat.
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nlroberts1961 12,8 cm Kanone 43 L/55 in blueprints only 26 Oct 2017 06:46:15pm
re: Using a Hingeless Album, Advice Needed.
I know Lighthouse cuts their mounts 3 mm larger than the necessary size so perhaps it is a recognized problem. I have also occasionally made the mistake of putting the item under the mount instead of in it if the the two bits are stuck together . For the kinked ones maybe applying a little heat might unkink them? Remove stamp; apply hairdryer - something to experiment with perhaps if other techniques fail.
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I may have isolated the problem. I think it is the mounts Mystic uses for this album. I got part two of these pages but just the pages, no mounts and am now cutting and attaching my own and this issue is not occurring on those. I am using Hawids or in some cases, cut down Scott mounts (clear). Te factory installed mounts on the part one pages look different, they seem made of slightly different material and there is some glare under light I don't know what brand they are, they are not Hawids.
Will be cutting mounts a lot this Winter.
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