Problem with block cutter

[Lyma]

Hi to everyone,
I have recently made a block cutter that looks like this one:
http://www.soapequipment.com/images/Manual Cutter Grid2.jpg

Unfortunately i'm having serious problem with the wires.
Sometimes they brake while i tighten them. Some others they brake while i'll try to cut the soap. I have tried many types of wire (fishing, guitar etc.) but not find the proper one.
I thought if my olive soap is really hard when i cut it after 24 hours, so i cut it after 12 hours but the same problem.
Has anyone experience to this type of cutter and have any ideas for my problem?
Do i use wrong wire? Will i need to cut soap sooner? roblem:

 

[Relle]

I haven't used one of these, but have you thought you might need a thicker S/S wire than the one you are using, to prevent breakage. I would have thought your OO soap would be still soft at the 12 hr stage.

 

[soapguy]

What was wrong with the guitar wires? It seems to me that you could just go to a different guitar wire if the other did not meet your expectations.

 

[Lyma]

I haven't used one of these, but have you thought you might need a thicker S/S wire than the one you are using, to prevent breakage. I would have thought your OO soap would be still soft at the 12 hr stage.

I've used thicker s/s wire. They still brake, and if they don't, it's really difficult to press down the cutter to cut the soap. It needs big pressure.

In the past i used to leave some olive oil recipes for 2-3 days.

Now that i add sometimes beer, or honey or beeswax it is kind of hard even after 10 hours. Especially if use fragrance that thickens the soap really quickly.
Cutting with the knife was not a problem. But now with the wires i'm having troubles.

 

[Lotus]

Weird! You'd think guitar wire would work. Have you tried "clay wire?" I made a castile bar recently, and it actually got really hard really fast, which is why I'm a bit confused about olive oil soaps being a soft soap. Mine are already VERY hard. So, that confuses me.

I really don't know what to say, but I'm marking, because I'm curious what others have to say.

 

[Lyma]

Weird! You'd think guitar wire would work. Have you tried "clay wire?" I made a castile bar recently, and it actually got really hard really fast, which is why I'm a bit confused about olive oil soaps being a soft soap. Mine are already VERY hard. So, that confuses me.

I really don't know what to say, but I'm marking, because I'm curious what others have to say.

No i didn't use clay wire. Will it be better than a stainless steel wire?

I agree with you with olive recipes. As i said my recent recipe was quite hard at 10 hours. I'm thinking of trying to cut it sooner, but i have my concerns if lower than 10 hours cutting will cause other problems.

 

[Lyma]

What was wrong with the guitar wires? It seems to me that you could just go to a different guitar wire if the other did not meet your expectations.

I've used many types of guitar wires, mostly the thin ones. My problem is that i want to be 100% sure about the reliability of the wire, because i don't want to risk at having a big block of uncut soap, hard as rock.

 

[soapguy]

How long before you cut your soaps?
I cut my soaps not at a specific hour, but when they feel like the right time to cut.
Hard soaps should be cut asap. You might consider cutting once the soap has cooled.

 

[Lyma]

How long before you cut your soaps?
I cut my soaps not at a specific hour, but when they feel like the right time to cut.
Hard soaps should be cut asap. You might consider cutting once the soap has cooled.

Last time i cut it at 10 hours and it was hard. Maybe 7-8 hours for the specific recipe was perfect to cut but i was in bed sleeping :-o.
My stress is that if one day i delay cutting for some hours i will stay with an uncut block unable to cut it?
That's why i'm searching for something really resistant.

 

[DeeAnna]

The other issue with hardened steel wire (piano wire, guitar strings, etc.) is you don't dare put a crimp or serious bend in this wire or run it over a sharp edge. If the wire consistently breaks in one location, that could be a clue that there is something in that location that is putting too much stress on the wire.

Also are you using one tensioner for several passes of the wire or one tensioner for each pass? If you are trying to use just one tensioner to handle multiple passes, you might be putting too much tension on the wire right at the tensioner in order to get enough tension on the wire furthest away.

Just some ideas to consider.

 

[Lyma]

The other issue with hardened steel wire (piano wire, guitar strings, etc.) is you don't dare put a crimp or serious bend in this wire or run it over a sharp edge. If the wire consistently breaks in one location, that could be a clue that there is something in that location that is putting too much stress on the wire.

Also are you using one tensioner for several passes of the wire or one tensioner for each pass? If you are trying to use just one tensioner to handle multiple passes, you might be putting too much tension on the wire right at the tensioner in order to get enough tension on the wire furthest away.

Just some ideas to consider.

Thanks a lot DeeAnna. I'll try this test to find the possible reason.

I use one tensioner for two passes, so maybe i'll try one for one...