It's not soap but...

[BrambleNBumble]

So I got tired of waiting to make more than one batch of soap due to only having one loaf mold so...

I woke up this morning and set up my portable table saw, grabbed some scrap wood, drew up some plans and made two loaf molds. Each one is three inches wide and three inches tall. And since I had some wood left over, I also made a rig to cut my soaps. It ain't pretty but it'll get the job done, and it didn't cost me a thing

 

[Stinkydancer]

Ummm I want one! LOL Nice job! Wooden molds don't have to be pretty they just have to be the size you want. I have tons of them but there is only one I absolutely love and the mold maker isn't making them any more. :-( The cutter is great as well! My husband is not crafty and neither am I so I can't make them.

Really nice job!

 

[AKjulz]

Great job! It's so wonderful to have wood working skills! And now you can get on to making more soap. Yay!!!

 

[BrambleNBumble]

Thanks! I used one mold to make a batch of salt bars today and used the cutter as well. I'll post pictures later once I'm done watching the Broncos game.

 

[user 12568]

Very nice. I tend to use mostly 3" round PVC pipe as my molds. Each foot provides a dozen 1" thick soaps at 4oz a piece. Unfortunately, the soap can be a bit difficult to remove from the molds, but a gentle heating in the oven makes them slide right out.

I built myself a simple cutter last month (got tired of free-styling my bars), but it looks like yours would produce better results. I use a knife to cut the bars, but my soap tend to shift when cutting. I like how you've built the sides with a thin slot for the cutter. I may try adding that to my design. I'm also thinking of using a guitar string to cut... We'll see.

Great job!

 

[BrambleNBumble]

Here are the lemongrass salt bars after cutting them with my new rig. The gap still allows for a little wiggle room so I have to make sure not to tilt the blade or they'll still come out a little crooked.

 

[AKjulz]

Those look wonderful! I just tested out my second batch salt bar in the shower this morning. When I made it I was really worried because it didn't set up. Everything I've read says the batter gets thick and they get so hard you have to cut after a few hours so I may have panicked and not gotten it to a thick enough trace. I used silicone cavity molds but my batter was like soup and they were way too soft to unmold for a few days. Anyway, they have been curing 3 weeks now and I just HAD to test it, turned out great and I know they will get better with age.

Sorry I just jacked your thread . Got excited by that salt soap

 

[TVivian]

Good job!! They look great to me!

 

[BrambleNBumble]

Lol, it's okay. My batter this time around was thinner than my last batch and there was more crumbling with this one so I'm sure I did something different, just not sure what. I only use about 50% salt where most people use 100% salt so I can see why it would get fairly thick.

 

[AKjulz]

I used 85% salt so figured it'd be thick. Whatever the problem was, time seems to have solved it.
We don't watch football, but my husband keeps giving me updates from the Broncos game. We live in Alaska, but moved here from the Denver area.

 

[lsg]

Great job!

 

[shunt2011]

Terrific job!! I love salt bars and generally use 50-75% salt in mine. I cut or unmold after about 3 hours.

 

[paillo]

Yay about both the molds and soap, they both look great!

 

[DeeAnna]

Huh. Must be the water in Iowa or something. My homemade cutter looks almost identical to yours!

Nice job on the mold and the cutter!

 

[BrambleNBumble]

Thanks!! My hubby was surprised with what I did since it took me all of an hour tops from planning, hauling my portable table saw and wood out of the basement and going to the hardware store to pick up the right sized nails. What makes it even better is I did most of it before he was even out of bed lol!