it may take a bit to build one up. mine is FAR form done but its got the basics and thats what counts...

Well the toolbox is expanding (still need an actual 'box' per say but that can come some other time)

Current residents are;
- 2 pair stamp tongs
- Perf gauge
- UV light
- Colour guide
- glassines
- empty #10 envelopes
- spare mounts (#26 & 33)
- magnifying glass and a 20x lighted loupe
- spare pare reading glasses
- 3pc seamstress scissor set
- mount cutter
- sandwich and large size ziplock bags
- sandwich size food containers

Still a few things to grab (the box itself) and I will have most if not all that I need.

I opted for a page cutter rather than a mount cutter as I rarely use mounts that aren't pre-cut. I'm missing the UV lamp but plan on getting one fairly soon.

Other than those basics, I had to figure out how to store about 100,000 different stamps so I could find them when I needed to.

I decided on baseball card sleeves, their storage boxes and some "houses" to store the boxes in. I cut up old album pages to the size of the cards and use a magic marker to label them (and an excel sheet to keep track of what's where).

One box that will normally hold 800 cards can hold over 1000 sleeves with stamps. I use both sides of the sleeves (for consecutive numbered stamps) so I can potentially store over 2000 different ones in one box.

The cost was the final determining factor to go this way, as glassines alone would have been over $30,000 and the whole shebang was way less than $500, including 800 packs of sleeves.

All six houses and 96 boxes takes up a 6x3 foot area and leaves the rest of my office to do the soaking & sorting & other typical office stuff.

I also use 1" D-ring binders with Vario pages and/or page protectors to store the S/S's, cards, and covers.

At present my philatelic tool box could best be described as, "all over the place"... I failed to pick up after myself last night! Bad, collector... bad, bad.

BP, thats terrible, pack up everything and send it my way. I will show it the love that it needs..........lol

Tongs, my 30X jewelers loupe, my Waltex magnifying glass, Stanley Gibbons color chips and my Stanley Gibbons "Detectamark" Watermark detector and last but not least my perforation gauge.

I need a new one. I think I am going to buy one of those black metal ones like I had when I was a kid and maybe one of those really advanced clear ones with all the measurements written all over it. I can't remember the name of it right off?

i just picked up one of the metal ones last month for $2.50 on eBay and i love this darned thing!! the clear one i had was nice but it broke after a fall off the book shelf.

Beautiful photo

Beautiful subject as well

Just bought and tried out some pure citrus. Worked marvelously.

i like your color strips that is such a cool thing i would love to get one for bear where can i find it.......

thank you so much i will be checking out these pages sometimes i hear from the other room. "hunny what color is this " and i go in and i am so stumped. the colors for stamps are very confusing and sometimes i think it one color and Bear thinks it another.... so stressful

Yeah I hear it works wonders but I don't mess with this newer stuff. I may get some just to play with it...
Bwa! ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha Where'd that smiley come from?? ->