The other day I posted a tutorial on making soap. I wanted to do a related post to show off something Mr Farmer made for me.
When looking for a mold for your soap, you can use almost anything. A lot of soap makers use Pringles cans as they make a nice round bar, are disposable, and it gives them lots of excuses to stuff their faces full of the delicious snack. You can also have a handy person build you a simple wooden mold. Just line it with wax paper and you're set to go.
But I wanted something I could reuse, disassemble, and clean. So we went to the hardware store. got some plexiglass and bolts, and went to work. Our first mold worked great until I noticed the plexi must not be heat resistant as it started to fracture. It is still useable but I was always afraid it would fail on me and I'd lose a batch of soap.
So, I searched the internet and found a product that could withstand high temps. I ordered it.
This is our mold.
There are two mirror-image pieces for the sides.
7 long bolts and nuts.
A bottom piece and two end pieces.
And there you have it. The three bolts on the bottom hold up the base plate as well as pulling the sides together. Then there are two more on each end to hold the end plates.
Mr Farmer even made me a cutting box. It is a plain 3-sided box that I put my set loaf into. Then I slide it to the end with the groove cuts and slide my cutter into the groove and I get uniform sized bars of soap.
If anyone is interested in our dimensions, just leave a comment and I'll send them to you. Or you can go on Ebay and pay like $60 for a similar mold. We spent about $50 on enough of the black product to make about 10 of them!
When looking for a mold for your soap, you can use almost anything. A lot of soap makers use Pringles cans as they make a nice round bar, are disposable, and it gives them lots of excuses to stuff their faces full of the delicious snack. You can also have a handy person build you a simple wooden mold. Just line it with wax paper and you're set to go.
But I wanted something I could reuse, disassemble, and clean. So we went to the hardware store. got some plexiglass and bolts, and went to work. Our first mold worked great until I noticed the plexi must not be heat resistant as it started to fracture. It is still useable but I was always afraid it would fail on me and I'd lose a batch of soap.
So, I searched the internet and found a product that could withstand high temps. I ordered it.
This is our mold.
There are two mirror-image pieces for the sides.
7 long bolts and nuts.
A bottom piece and two end pieces.
And there you have it. The three bolts on the bottom hold up the base plate as well as pulling the sides together. Then there are two more on each end to hold the end plates.
Mr Farmer even made me a cutting box. It is a plain 3-sided box that I put my set loaf into. Then I slide it to the end with the groove cuts and slide my cutter into the groove and I get uniform sized bars of soap.
Hello -
ReplyDeleteLooks great! What is it made out of? I'd love to have the specifications so I could try to get my husband to make me some!!! Thanks for sharing.
WoollyAcres@PaulBunyan.net
Thank you. I purchased some plastic pieces online from Interstate Plastics. I had to call to get one that was heat resistant so it didn't crack with the repeated heat of multiple soap batches. I will get back to you with the dimensions. I just looked up molds on ebay and used their measurements. The plastic is just cut on the table saw or circular saw and drilled with a regular drill or drill press. I think anyone with basic woodworking skills could make one without any problem. So glad you stopped by! Like i said, I'll get back to you on the dimensions.
DeleteThank you so much!!!
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