# Securing shellac and cylinders: it breaks as soon as it is knocked

> Secure shellac: upright, shock-free, cool. Do not let cylinders roll, keep the sleeve.
> Quelle: https://tresorrari.de/artikel/schellack-walzen-sichern · Stand: 2026-10-01 · Tresorrari Redaktion

Shellac breaks. A cylinder rolls off the shelf and is then a pile of shards with a song you no longer play. In the overview [Security for collectors](/artikel/sicherheit-fuer-sammler) this is the fragile relative of the record.

## What gets ruined without a thief

Shock, heat, a row packed too tight that chips the edge off, damp on the paper sleeve. You store upright, with a little play, cool, and you do not stack cylinders so that the bottom one carries the load. Play only on a machine built for it, not on a guess.

## When someone comes

Boxes are heavy and fragile. An offender is more likely to knock them over than to sort them. Your protection is a locked, quiet cabinet and a list that names every rare disc. The everyday carton does not stand in the hall, where a bag drags it off.

## The folder

Title, number, condition, whether the sleeve is there, receipt for the rare ones. Photo of the label. A cracked disc stays in the list as cracked, so that you do not later enter it as new damage.

## Häufige Fragen

### Store shellac like vinyl?

Upright and cool, yes, only more sensitive to shock. More play in the row.

### Stack cylinders?

Not so the bottom one carries the load. Shock-free, lying down only if the shape calls for it and nothing rolls.

### Playing them?

Only on a suitable machine. A try on the wrong platter is the break.