Finally finished my DIY HDPE soap mold and a 20+ bar wire cutter!

MunbynSMF
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shunt2011 said:
@hungryhawaiian Don't be so sure soap won't stick. I had a mold like that and couldn't get the soap out without a fight. I sold it after about 1 month. The only soap that came out without an issue was salt soap. I still have a slab mold but line it before using it. I've tried cooking spray, mineral oil and even silicone spray. Hope you have better luck than I had. Some people love them, not me. You did a great job though.
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I had enough issues with mine that I just started lining it
 
hungryhawaiian said:
Yeah I’ve heard different outcomes with HDPE. It almost sounds like in your case, if salt soap had no issues, it just needed to sit longer before unmolding?

I work with HDPE on other things than soap as well and have never had issues that weren’t user error. This will be my first for soap and I hope to make a batch in it tonight. Wish me luck! lol
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Do let us know how it unmolds!
Edited to add: Warming in a 170 degree oven for a few minutes helps to release.
 
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Clarice said:
@hungryhawaiian - you are putting us (me) to shame!

@soapmaker - did you find HDPE sheets at a hardware store, or a specialty store

Thanks to both!
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There is a large local business that sells all kinds, colours and thicknesses of HDPE. I cannot call it a store, really, it is like a lumber yard only plastics. It is also called "puck board." The stuff that stops hockey pucks from going in the crowd. Mine is rough on one side and smooth on the other. That's O.K. for the outside to be rough.
 
I'm liking your cutter and log mold! :)

hungryhawaiian said:
This will be my first for soap and I hope to make a batch in it tonight. Wish me luck! lol
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Luck! :)

*edited to add extra text, including quote - otherwise it might not look how I meant it! :oops:

hungryhawaiian said:
I used guitar strings, first E String. Made the mistake of using lightweight. When I redo this, I’ll switch to medium or hard.
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The G-string is about the right size ...
 
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I have one HDPE mold and have to line it with freezer paper. Perhaps if I wanted to take the mold apart every time I soap with it, I'd be able to get the slabs of HDPE off of the soap, but for me dismantling the mold is more work than lining it. I did dismantle it once, and that was enough.

I do believe some HDPE is smoother than others, and that may have something to do with how much work it can be to get the parts off the soap.

You did a lovely job on your mold and cutter. Very nice.
 
hungryhawaiian said:
There is a local supplier but I’m never able to catch them when they’re open, so I purchased mine on amazon. I purchased two sheets, one at 1/2” and one at 1/4”, and both at 12” x 24”. All cuts, grooves included, I did with a table saw.

As for lining HDPE, no. HDPE is a super non stick surface in itself so there’s no need.
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Thanks - I appreciate the info!
 
earlene said:
I have one HDPE mold and have to line it with freezer paper. Perhaps if I wanted to take the mold apart every time I soap with it, I'd be able to get the slabs of HDPE off of the soap, but for me dismantling the mold is more work than lining it. I did dismantle it once, and that was enough.

I do believe some HDPE is smoother than others, and that may have something to do with how much work it can be to get the parts off the soap.

You did a lovely job on your mold and cutter. Very nice.
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I had to take it apart every time and it never came off smoothly. Not worth the hassle. If I let it sit in the mold any longer I wouldn’t have been able to cut it with my soap cutter. Tried the oven gig too. It was just too frustrating with the volume I made.
 
aksamitka said:
@hungryhawaiian Wow! They look so profesional! Very neat job.
This mold looks so hudge. When you will make a soap loaf, can you post its weight?
We are waiting for the news from first run experience!
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Funny you should ask.... [emoji57] I made a batch of Pine Tar soap last night. The mold perfectly fits a 5lb recipe. I’ll take pics tonight before and after I cut my bars =)
 
aksamitka said:
@hungryhawaiian Wow! They look so profesional! Very neat job.
This mold looks so hudge. When you will make a soap loaf, can you post its weight?
We are waiting for the news from first run experience!
Click to expand...

I have a video of the unmolding but SMF won’t let me post videos. I’m still new to SMF and figuring out all its quirks... anyways, here’s the before and after pics =)

IMG_3995.JPG

IMG_3997.JPG
 
soapmaker said:
Hope I'm not bothering you...did you gel? and how long in the mold?
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You’re not bothering at all! =) As for gelling, I honestly don’t know if I did or didn’t. I’m still trying to learn about it. I left my soap for 24hrs in the mold.

I’ll take a pic of the cut bar itself and post it up for a comparison maybe... I’ve only seen gelling in pics on sites I read about it on.
 

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