Becoming frustrated by my lack of proper tools...

[galaxyMLP]

NA, those are the exact molds I use. I sold the cutter mold separately to someone else since it didnt work for me.

I find that if you tighten them too much, they do bow out. However, the center screw really helps with that. I like that they are easy to clean. Even if they are not "no line".

I read a bunch of reviews before buying them.

 

[Dahila]

I did break down and buy a loaf mold. It was worth it. Pick your favorite batch size and go ahead and invest in one. I would not pick one that requires any sort of rigid mold around it. I think this is the one I have. I considered it a valid investment. Especially when I ordered enough other items to get free shipping.

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/products/regular-loaf-silicone-mold.aspx

You can also buy PVC pipe and end caps and use those as a mold for round or oval bars. This does require lining, however.

I got two of them but ......my DH had left some hardwood planks and he made me 5 molds of them, went with it on planer and made them. I am an owner of 6 wooden molds (88 oz each) and two same as yours, I find that it bows a bit. Silicon ones are very good, and easy to wash, no lining required. Gigi maybe someone could make wooden molds for you? We have a long thread about making them at home, I believe a few woman made them .

 

[navigator9]

You really can't beat Aliexpress for silicone molds. I haven't bought their loaf molds, but I've bought quite a few individual, specialty molds from them. Sometimes the shipping takes a while, but that's been the only drawback. The molds I've received have been every bit as good as one that I've bought elsewhere. Here's a loaf mold at a great price. You would have to build your own box, though. I know nothing about woodworking, and I've built several boxes for loaf molds. You could even bring pictures of what you want, and the dimensions, and most places that sell lumber, will cut it for you. Then you can use wood glue, and nails or screws to put it together. I would leave one end open, with a piece of wood that fits tightly into the opening, to make it easier to get the mold out. You can do it!
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fash...est=201526_1,201527_1_71_72_73_74_75,201409_5

 

[TeresaT]

I just got this one on ebay. It's a bit more than I usually spend, but it has a wooden mold, silicone liner, dividers and had free shipping. So, i think it was worth it, since I want to try to do colors and swirling.

ETA: I have seen some really adorable molds, but I think $10 for a single cavity 2 oz mold is too expensive for me. I can't justify that kind of spending. This one though? I can make a lot of soap with it.

 

[vmakkers]

I just got this one on ebay. It's a bit more than I usually spend, but it has a wooden mold, silicone liner, dividers and had free shipping. So, i think it was worth it, since I want to try to do colors and swirling.

ETA: I have seen some really adorable molds, but I think $10 for a single cavity 2 oz mold is too expensive for me. I can't justify that kind of spending. This one though? I can make a lot of soap with it.

Just a word of caution, I ordered these ones from eBay

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thick-Oblon...e-Mold-/331423366964?var=&hash=item4d2a5f3f34

and they came with sooooooo many little acrylic shards. It was like they had cut the grooves into the acrylic but didn't think to maybe dust off any remnants left over. I had acrylic confetti everywhere when I first opened my package and some of the shards got stuck in my fingers. I ended up unwrapping all the little dividers outside so the acrylic would stop getting all over my room. Hopefully your seller is better.

 

[not_ally]

Gigi, I'm sure you've thought of this already since you are comfortable with tools, but would it be worth it to just buy an inexpensive electric drill so that you could buy lumber at Home Depot and have them cut it into the lengths you need, like Obsidian suggested? They give you a certain amount of cuts for free, and are supposed to charge a small amount for cuts past that, although they usually don't (I just tip them if they are nice like that ) unless it is a whole bunch more. With the drill and pre-cut lumber all you'd need is a handful of wood screws, which are cheap, of course.

It is a bigger pain than just ordering them (also you have to check the measurements of your pieces before you check out b/c some of those guys are not the most careful), but you could probably get 4 molds of the exact size/s that you want for about $50, drill included, and then you would have the drill for your next DIY mold project. Not to mention all the other household stuff for which they are useful.

 

[gigisiguenza]

Such great suggestions, Tyvm everyone. Some of these never occurred to me at all - like the wine bottle box... friggin brilliant... and I have no problem making my own, it's affording the materials. But I'm athinkin now for sure

 

[rparrny]

There is a kindle book available on Amazon called How To Build a Wooden Soap Mold by M. Bear. Cheap book and easy instructions.

 

[gigisiguenza]

Thanks to some of your excellent suggestions, I have been able to add a few better quality, more durable items to my soapy toolbox, for very little money

A friend of mine bought a couple of my hats for holiday gifts, so I had some extra cash. I went to Michaels n hit their clearance area, as well as digging through the aisles and asking the manager if they would discount the damaged items I found. She was so nice. Once she saw the very obvious damage, she happily knocked down the price. She must be a thrifty crafter too LOL.

So I got a soap cutter very cheap (the hand held kind that look like this http://www.michaels.com/artminds-soap-making-straight-cutter/10215727.html#q=Soap+cutter&start=1 ) ... it was on clearance for $5 because the handle had a big obvious scratch across it. This should help tremendously with my bars looking cleaner and not all smeared up from my too thick knife.

I also got a wooden box ( http://www.michaels.com/artminds-wood-box/10399984.html#q=Wood+box&start=21 )for $6 because it had a large black mark across the top. I think it's going to make an excellent slab mold if I only fill it to 1.5 inches, and I could easily get two loaves out of it if I fill it to the 3" depth. It's 11.25L x 8.75 W x 3" D. I'm sure I can craft some dividers out of something.

They also have these great photo boxes 5 for $10. I got one for $2, to see how many wrapped soaps I can store in it. It's 11" L x 7.5W x 4.25D. If it's good, I'll get more.

I also got a 99¢ wooden block and some wooden letters and made a soap stamp. Pardon the pencil lines, they were for centering and spacing.


I also used my coupon code to get a case of mason jars for making oil infusions, paid a whopping $7 bucks for the case.

I will say I was disappointed with this Michaels and how limited their stock was. I couldn't find any fondant mats, soap making supplies were extremely limited, and their stamping selection was crappy. I'm going to hit hobby lobby tomorrow with the rest of my hat money and see what other goodies I can find and improvise for soaping

 

[cmzaha]

K, I just wanted to add a warning on the Mr. Doright molds b/c my experience was so different, they are expensive, and I don't want someone who is watching their budget to buy them and be disappointed.

I bought the kit a couple of years ago when I was just doing MP b/c they were advertised as being "no-liner" molds and I was hopeful that would be true w/MP, which was stupid of me. Anyway, they are definitely not no-liner, with MP or CP. I hardly used them, except to cut CP bars, but they all warped, including the cutter one (bowed out on both sides.)

I just moved and ended up throwing them all away. I think you must have gotten an especially good set or something, after I noticed that the "no-lining" thing was not true I searched the soaping forums and there are lots of complaints about this guy.

Well shoot I would have taken them off your hands. I happen to love my hdpe molds and they are all I use, but a smallish wooden slab mold and my tall skinny wood mold. The hdpe can become no line with enough mineral for a mold release. I just prefer to line mine. Your most likely bowed due to over tightening the bolts. They cannot be cranked down hard. Also they are not good for Oven Process. I also find Rick (Mr Doright easy to work with) Been using his mold since I started soaping. All you have to do is make a slip from freezer paper and not worry about lining the ends. Keeping in mind HDPE only takes around 175º F so they are easy to warp. I have straightened mine by heating to 170º and setting something heavy on it to flatten the pieces. I also love them over wood because I can wash them after each use