A related question - has anyone used anything to mechanically vibrate the mold when loading? I was thinking a "vibrating table", like the old football games but with more "omph", might be cool.
Is the idea that the vibration would help it fill up without any gaps or bubbles?
I've requested a quote for one that also has the vertical dividers so you can do swirls, etc. Pretty much like this one:
http://oilandbutter.blogspot.com/2013/01/soaphutch-uber-mold.html
I want mine tall enough so I can do a square log. IDK if I can justify $400, though.
I don't think they're all quite that much. Part of the price has to do with how much material it takes to make the mold, and mine was pretty big. It was also a new design; having two separate 10-bar divider sets in one mold is very unusual, so Rich had to engineer that AND make it fit in with everything else. He's a genius, really and truly.