# Dancing Funnel In A Loaf Mold?



## dndlyon (Aug 10, 2018)

Hello!

  I've been lurking for a while...finally joined so I could post 

  I saw the dancing funnel challenge this month. I've searched this forum and spent some time with google but couldn't find anywhere that uses this technique with a loaf mold. I really want to try this, but don't have a slab (it's next on my wish list).

  Is there any reason not to try this technique in a small (2lb) loaf mold? I'm sure it will look a bit different, but is there a specific reason not to do this in a loaf mold?

Thank you for sharing your experience!


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## BrewerGeorge (Aug 10, 2018)

I haven't tried this particular technique, but I've used a loaf mold like a slab for other things.  Just pour it one bar high, so what would normally be the top becomes the face.


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## dndlyon (Aug 10, 2018)

BrewerGeorge said:


> I haven't tried this particular technique, but I've used a loaf mold like a slab for other things.  Just pour it one bar high, so what would normally be the top becomes the face.



Thank you for this! It's always the simple ideas that elude me! LOL! I feel a bit silly that this didn't even occur to me


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## earlene (Aug 10, 2018)

If you look at my video that I posted with the challenge, one of those soaps is actually made in a loaf mold.   I didn't include the actual pour of that particular soap, but the picture of one 4 bars of soap at 12:24 (time on video clock) shows one of the soaps.  It is the only rectangular one, the one on top.  I made it in a small loaf mold and cut it into 3 bars of soap.

The most difficult part about using this technique in a loaf mold was the maneuverability of the squirt bottles.  With a confined space, it seem harder to point the tips accurately and by pouring less deep, it seems even harder.  But the cut is as BG says.  You cut it like it was a slab mold, in other words as you look down on the top of the soap, that's where your biggest flat sides of your soap will be.


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## Moose Wrangler (Aug 10, 2018)

I've done it in a loaf mold with no issues. I think it's a bit more challenging due to how much you can result maneuver you hand and the bottles but totally doable. Just don't do what I did and let the soap get too thick before starting to pour. Have fun!


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## Alzie (Aug 11, 2018)

I've done it in a loaf mold, as I don't have a slam mold yet.  I did have a heck of a time figuring out the cutting of it, but after a lot of trial cuts I got it! Needless to say I had some weird bars with a few good ones.  Having a fluid batter is key.


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## dndlyon (Aug 17, 2018)

Thank you all for your comments - especially the part about maneuvering the bottles. This gave me an idea - I work in a lab, so I think I might try to pipette the soap instead of using the squirt bottles. I'm sure this will be the best soapy mess ever  Thanks again!


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## amd (Aug 17, 2018)

Oh boy, unless that's a big pipette, it's going to take you a LOOOONG time to make that soap. Maybe a turkey baster? lol I'm kind of kidding but now I'm curious... let us know how that goes!


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## shunt2011 (Aug 17, 2018)

amd said:


> Oh boy, unless that's a big pipette, it's going to take you a LOOOONG time to make that soap. Maybe a turkey baster? lol I'm kind of kidding but now I'm curious... let us know how that goes!



Turkey Baster might work..... ha ha ha  I would try one of those long end measuring cups. I have squirt bottles if I can carve out time to give it a try.  Not sure it's going to happen in time.


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## amd (Aug 17, 2018)

Hmmm... I wonder if I could be steady enough with a funnel pitcher? I'm having zero luck finding good squeeze bottles that the tops don't pop off when they're squeezed. I am going to stop in to my restaurant owning friend and see if he has any unused ketchup bottles that I could buy from him. If I strike out there, I'll probably try the funnel pitcher... is that cheating?

Ooops! Just realized I was commenting on a different thread, I thought I was in the challenge thread! [wanders off in search of coffee]


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## earlene (Aug 17, 2018)

I don't think it's cheating, *amd*, just harder to control.  The only time I've ever had the screw-on top of a squeeze bottle pop off was when the contents inside were too thick.


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## dndlyon (Aug 17, 2018)

@amd - I took a few 50 mL pipettes from the lab and have a battery operated pipette aid at home. I'm thinking for my small loaf mold experiment it might work...famous last words...well, I thought it might work 

@shunt2011 - I used to use a turkey baster to clean my aquarium sand. It was super leaky and I always ended up with fish pooh and aquarium water all over everything. Imagine this image with soaping using pretty strong colorants in your kitchen, and then add that I'm trying to sell my house. This made me LOL so hard!

Potential Home Buyer: "Why are there so many colored spots all over the counters and floor?" Realtor: "Um...the current owner is...well...creative"

I'll see if I can get some pics of my "creative process" this weekend


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## earlene (Aug 26, 2018)

dndlyon said:


> @amd - I took a few 50 mL pipettes from the lab and have a battery operated pipette aid at home. I'm thinking for my small loaf mold experiment it might work...famous last words...well, I thought it might work
> 
> @shunt2011 - I used to use a turkey baster to clean my aquarium sand. It was super leaky and I always ended up with fish pooh and aquarium water all over everything. Imagine this image with soaping using pretty strong colorants in your kitchen, and then add that I'm trying to sell my house. This made me LOL so hard!
> 
> ...



Did you have a chance yet to get some photos?  I am interested in how you managed this with pipettes and what your process actually looks like.


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## LiLiSoapz (Aug 27, 2018)

I am excitedly awaiting pictures as well.


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## MKLonestar (Aug 27, 2018)

For those that want to do the dancing funnel pour, but don't have slab molds, my first "slab mold" was a hinged wood box from Hobby Lobby. I took off the hinged lid and used just the bottom of the box lined width freezer paper. I would then use the lid to help insulate if necessary. It is amazing what you can come up with to use as a mold if you just look around and "think outside the box". By doing what I did and using my 40% OFF coupon, I got my first slab mold for less than $10. Check out local craft stores and thrift stores to see what you can find.

I am also patiently awaiting pictures.


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## dndlyon (Aug 28, 2018)

Apparently there is a worldwide silicone shortage and I wasn't able to snag some pipettes from the lab because we are out! I wonder if we'll see it hit mold liner prices.

I ended up using squeezable condiment bottles and learned SO MUCH doing this. This is the first time I've used colorants other than clay or infusions and a fragrance oil instead of essential oils. I made a large (for me) batch of oils so I could play with my molds. The batch was split into 3 sections (blue, violet, and white). I poured in this order:

A 5-lb loaf mold poured only to 1 bar width (as BrewerGeorge suggested). The long white, blue, and purple bar in the background.
A 2-lb loaf mold poured using the dancing funnel technique to the top of the mold. The blue and purple bar in the foreground (ran out of white).
Left over soap went into a silicone mold. No pics yet as they are still too soft to unmold.
I read so much about the time this would take that the soap was barely at thin trace when I started pouring. I'm not sure how the 5-lb mold soap will turn out as it cures. The soap was too thin and I'm wondering if it mixed well enough at the beginning. The mold leaked a bit and I lost track of the dancing funnel pattern so just started making circles that spread out into "not circles". However, I'm going to try this again because I like the stained glass / tesserae feel to it. I just need to be less excited about trying something new and pay more attention! 

By the time I started pouring the 2-lb mold, the soap was at a nice thin trace and the circles went nicely. You can see in the first cut bar how the soap at the bottom was probably a little too thin for the pour, but toward the middle it hits the right trace, then toward the top it got pretty thick.

A note here about fragrance oil behaving badly (or maybe not...if you like the colors). This soap is from the exact same batch. I turned the oven on 170 - which I usually do. However, I usually remember to shut the oven off once the molds go in. After about an hour at 170, I saw that I left the oven on and shut it off. They sat for about 12 hours before I pulled them out. The fragrance oil is Warm Flannel from BB - which does turn brown in CP. I didn't know how this would turn out, and this isn't one of my favorite fragrances in the bottle, so sacrificed it to the Soap Gods as a learning experience. You can see that the heat and fragrance oil really darkened the blue and turned the purple an almost purple brown...is that a bit of alien brain I see at the top? 

My little experiment really taught me a lot about how complicated soap can be when you move outside of the ingredients and techniques that you are used to! I learned a bunch about trace, new colors, fragrance oils, heat...and how it can all combine differently in the same batch of soap to create a completely different product!

I cut the small loaf a bit too early - just couldn't wait to see the inside. Once I cut everything I'll put in more pics. The left over blue soap that went into the silicone mold didn't go in the oven, and I didn't insulate, so it is a very different blue color.


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## dndlyon (Aug 28, 2018)

On a side note - As soon as we have pipettes in the lab, I'm going to try this again. I really think that if I can manage the force that the soap is coming out of the pipette, it might be another way to get this pattern.


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## earlene (Aug 28, 2018)

Interesting about the 'silicone shortage'.  Of course I had to look that one up, as I had not heard of it and had a gut reaction as to why this might be the case.  I won't share my personal thoughts as they are too controversial to share here.  But, I found this editorial of interest:

http://www.rubbernews.com/article/2...ply-pricing-pressures-burden-silicones-market

According to this Rubber & Plastics News editorial silicone is seeing up to a 30% price increase and that was in May 2018, so I'd say you are probably right that silicone liners are going up in price.  Gotta say, I'm learning to love the idea of Freezer Paper all the more.


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## LiLiSoapz (Aug 28, 2018)

That is beautiful, one of them looks like a stone walkway.


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## dndlyon (Aug 28, 2018)

@earlene - I thought someone was trying to cover the order that they forgot to place when they told me (and I wished I had such a clever answer last time I forgot something in an order!). Everything we are hearing indicates it will be a long haul kind of thing and difficult to predict.

@LiLiSoapz - It started as really wonky shaped circles, but by the second layer I was encouraging more angles. I'm going to plan this one better next time and try again - maybe giraffe colors? But what does a giraffe smell like?


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## LiLiSoapz (Aug 28, 2018)

I don't think I wan to know what a giraffe truly smells like.  Perhaps the scent of the leaves they love to eat would be better on our whiffer, .


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