Recent content by Nettle

Thanks for that, it starts to make some sense. Just for giggles, I went to Brambleberry and searched out Patchouli Essential Oil.. On the page I do not see recommended usage (unless I am missing something, very possible, the tryptophan is deep today) But I did find that they have a EO/FO...

So, a fair bit of Google research seems to say that an 8-week cure will reduce the weight of a bar by about 10%, though this will be less if a water discount is used. Fiddling with SoapCalc shows that a .75 pound oil weight will produce 1.161 pounds of soap, which after full cure will be just...

So I have a few more questions... If the plan is to fill a one pound mold, how do I calculate the oils? When I use SoapCalc it seems that I end up at 1.548 pounds of soap before CP cure... Also, how much water weight is typically lost during the cure? And another... If I want to use a butter...

I sincerely appreciate the detailed replies, it definitely changes the way I had been planning things. George, you are right, I have a really nice drill that will not likely burn out in the next decade or two, and a nice stainless steel wand.. So I figured I could try to use what I already...

Ah nice! Replies! Obsidian: In all honesty, the videos I'd been watching in YouTube showed either big slabs or big loaves, I just assumed that it was the norm. Course, I've seen videos with one pound loaf molds but it seemed small. I have three boys in soccer, the family an go through a bar...

Good day! I'm about to begin the process of whipping up my first batch.. I've been reading the forums, reading Soaping e-books, tutorials.... And I realize that I could put together a fair attempt, but I want my first to be a success. So here goes with the noob questions: 1) When water is...