There hasn't been a post here in 8 hours so...
 

I want to ask you binder using set builders a question. How far along are you with a set before you start putting the cards in the pages? Do you go ahead at the outset and put all the needed pages in the binder and put the cards in as you get them, even if you only have 20 or 30 out of a 500 card set and go ahead and store your binder upright since it is full of pages? Or do you put the cards elsewhere, like in a box, until you are halfway or better to completion?

I know the binder-page thing has been beaten nearly to death, but I haven't seen this nuance addressed specifically before, and I was curious. The last sets I built used four pocket pages and Cardsavers. What i am thinking about doing would involve 9 pocket pages and larger sets, hence my questions.

Thanks as always!

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I wait until I have a couple hundred or so after sorting some lots. I'm not smart enough to do the math if it's 20 cards out of 598 and the number are spread throughout...lol. Plus loose sheets can damage cards.

I can tell you one thing...as you put cards in a binder make sure the last card on each page is divisible by 9...:) don't want to go 100 cards deep and have to move everyone back one spot! Tip...all numbers that are divisible by 9 add up to 9. Important tip as you input cards. #369....3+6+9=18, 1+8=9. #432...4+3+2=9. #618....6+1+8=15, 1+5=6. UH-OH...you now know card #618 should not be in the last spot of a sheet...haha. Trust me...this math matters... :)

The math absolutely matters...LOL! It has been a while since I made that mistake, but I have made it. Good point on loose sheets damaging cards. The fun part of this for me is having cards in the pages, seeing the slots to be filled, filling in those slots, and making the visible progress. I will just have to be patient and wait until I have a couple of hundred like you indicated. Thanks!

On large sets I usually wait until set is complete to put it in sheets and a binder. On smaller sets I usually put them into sheets and a binder as I build it. But sometimes it goes into a binder with a bigger set from the same year, such as some Topps supplemental or test issues

Thank you, Al!

Am I the only one guilty of not accounting for unissued numbers?
I'm looking at you 1953 Topps:(

You aren't alone. I did exactly that when I built my '53 set. :eek: That made for a fun afternoon of rearranging.

For sets with missing numbers I leave blank space with notation that no card with that number was issued. Or, if someone has produced a fantasy card, like Lemke did with the 1958 Bouchee, I insert that card with note about it's origin.

Did the same with the 3 unissued 51 Topps Current All Stars-- Stankey, Roberts and Konstanty. A fellow board member produced some fantasy examples ( on thin stock) that I used as fillers, likely permanent since I doubt I will ever get those 3 to finish that set. : {

I buy the tiny clear stickers and put one on the lower right hand corner of each page. Run that sticker page through my printer to print 9,18,27,36,45...etc.
This way when I'm filling any page with a card I need I only have to look at the bottom corner for reference as to where I am and can find a card its home quickly.
You barely notice those stickers are there and it sure makes the collecting process of binder storage a lot more fun.
RayB

Ray, you mind posting a pic as an example? I like that. Thanks.

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Sticker pic as requested.

Simple but effective. Thanks, Ray!

That's cool Ray...I like that a lot. My COVID boredom bred a project where I finally started putting my junk wax into binders...first up was the 81-90 Donruss...those stickers would have helped instead of me constantly adding to 9...although with all those cards put into binders I now have every "9" number up to 700 memorized!! :)


Yeah on the omitted numbers. 53 is a set I have yet to work on, but the 55s and the 61s can be confusing...but thankfully the unused numbers are at the back end.

100% agree. I have a rush everytime I add a new card to it's home...so very satisfying when you are at the stage where the one card fills a page...or when you add a card to the empty "high number" page...haha. Those high number pages are SUPER satisfying when filled...

Then there is that last card of any vintage set...ah...I have a routine of a cold beer and a nice cigar to celebrate, and always have my wife drop it home for luck. It cracks her up...

Ray-- you should have applied for a patent :)