Aug 2018 SMF Challenge - Dancing Funnel Pour

[dibbles]

I think I just got mine at Walmart.

 

[Misschief]

Is there a recommendation for brand of bottles? I use ones that I get from Hobby Lobby in the art supply department for mixing TD, but it is a really poor bottle. Any amount of squeezing pressure and either the lid pops off or the soap oozes out of the lid. Even shaking to mix my TD has to be done carefully or I end up covered in TD.

I found my squeeze bottles at a restaurant supply store. Good quality and really not expensive.

 

[artemis]

I think I just got mine at Walmart.

I was at Walmart today. Bottles were on the mental list. Did I grab them? No! Forgot all about them.

 

[TeresaGG]

I was at Walmart today. Bottles were on the mental list. Did I grab them? No! Forgot all about them.

I can never rely on mental lists. I have to wight it down AND rember to bring it with me.

 

[BattleGnome]

I can never rely on mental lists. I have to wight it down AND rember to bring it with me.

I have an app for that. It helps because i usually make my list at work and never put my mental list items on it. Now I have a running tally with me at all times

 

[redhead1226]

1. dibbles - happy dancing!
2. shunt - going to try (if I have time)
3. amd - it's been on my "to try list" for several years
4. Misschief - I've tried a couple of times, time to perfect the technique!
5. Scard - I can dance...not! but I'll try
6. Artemis - we'll see if I have time to play!
7. jcandleattic - Maybe I'll actually have time to join this one?
8. BattleGnome - mold size vs squirt bottle size....
9. Primrose - better buy some squirt bottles ...
10. Mommycarlson - you can dance if you want to!
11. Roselyne - really hope I'll have time to make it!
12. Redhead1226 - Gonna give it a go! Nice challenge!

 

[earlene]

Is there a recommendation for brand of bottles? I use ones that I get from Hobby Lobby in the art supply department for mixing TD, but it is a really poor bottle. Any amount of squeezing pressure and either the lid pops off or the soap oozes out of the lid. Even shaking to mix my TD has to be done carefully or I end up covered in TD.

My suggestion is to use any squeeze bottle that has a very thin tip ( you can always cut a bit away if you desire) and if it has a cover for the tip, that's a nice feature, but not totally necessary. Even with a cover for the tip, I still find I have to use the tip of my gloved finger when shaking, though, as I have even had leakage with a covered tip. Plus a cover can come loose.

I have purchased bottles at various locations, but they are pretty much all the same. If they are too hard to squeeze though, I would not recommend them. But I haven't run into that too often.

So, no, I have no particular brand of bottle to recommend. I just looked at the bottles I brought along with me on this trip and all they say on the bottom is 'China' so there is no brand name. But they have the attached tip covers that I like. I really don't recall where I found them; one of the many stores I visit periodically; it could have been anywhere.

 

[soapmaker]

Thinking about the capacity of my slab mold... would it be ok if I had a solid layer and used the technique on the top half on my bars? I think my mold holds around 60oz of oils which is way too much for a first time technique. I can easily use my loaf molds but I think this could look cute with a layer somewhere.

I know what you mean. My slab mold holds 80 oz. oil. I would need gigantic squeeze bottles. And a lot of patience. Slow moving trace, think lard and OO.

 

[dibbles]

I can't pour all the batter into my squeeze bottles at once - I have to refill part way through. You could just use enough to make batter to fill your mold to 1-1.5 inches. I don't know if your mold holds that much at a huge depth. earlene also said you could use a loaf mold and just cut the bars like you would a slab instead of vertically like a loaf is typically cut - that takes a lot less batter than a large slab mold.

 

[Misschief]

My suggestion is to use any squeeze bottle that has a very thin tip ( you can always cut a bit away if you desire) and if it has a cover for the tip, that's a nice feature, but not totally necessary. Even with a cover for the tip, I still find I have to use the tip of my gloved finger when shaking, though, as I have even had leakage with a covered tip. Plus a cover can come loose.

I have purchased bottles at various locations, but they are pretty much all the same. If they are too hard to squeeze though, I would not recommend them. But I haven't run into that too often.

So, no, I have no particular brand of bottle to recommend. I just looked at the bottles I brought along with me on this trip and all they say on the bottom is 'China' so there is no brand name. But they have the attached tip covers that I like. I really don't recall where I found them; one of the many stores I visit periodically; it could have been anywhere.

I've used the plastic condiment bottles that have lids. The caps kept getting in my way and I've had one of the tops pop off mid-use.

I now have some like this one: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B009DRCK22/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I love them. One gets used for chocolate sauce; the others are used for soapmaking.

 

[soapmaker]

I've used the plastic condiment bottles that have lids. The caps kept getting in my way and I've had one of the tops pop off mid-use.

I now have some like this one: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B009DRCK22/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I love them. One gets used for chocolate sauce; the others are used for soapmaking.

But they only hold 8 oz. Look at Lee Valley.

 

[dibbles]

But they only hold 8 oz. Look at Lee Valley.

You can add batter to the bottles as you go. That’s what I do.

 

[Misschief]

But they only hold 8 oz. Look at Lee Valley.

The ones I have are larger than that but that's what they look like.

 

[soapmaker]

I’d sign up if I had the vaguest hope of planing a soap so it was nice and square.

pj this is where the hdpe divider mold comes in handy. The dividers make them perfectly smooth without planing. They punch out very perfectly, of course at a much higher cost than a cardboard box!

 

[penelopejane]

^^ True.
I have used tomato sauce (ketchup to most of you!) squeeze bottles. The lids screw on so no problem there. They are not see through. Mayonnaise bottles are good as they are see through and have screw top lids.

 

[jules92207]

1. dibbles - happy dancing!
2. shunt - going to try (if I have time)
3. amd - it's been on my "to try list" for several years
4. Misschief - I've tried a couple of times, time to perfect the technique!
5. Scard - I can dance...not! but I'll try
6. Artemis - we'll see if I have time to play!
7. jcandleattic - Maybe I'll actually have time to join this one?
8. BattleGnome - mold size vs squirt bottle size....
9. Primrose - better buy some squirt bottles ...
10. Mommycarlson - you can dance if you want to!
11. Roselyne - really hope I'll have time to make it!
12. Redhead1226 - Gonna give it a go! Nice challenge!
13. jules92207 - I’ve been MIA for a while, this is a good way to “dance” my way back

 

[earlene]

I couldn't get all the batter into my smaller squeeze bottles, so I used plastic wrap on top of the containers that I mixed the colored batter in to keep it from loosing water in between. Or when I mixed in a container that came with it's own lid, then I pour some into the squeeze bottle and leave the rest in the mixing container with the lid closed. (I wish I could find a photo online of this container that I bought at Walmart, but although I keep looking, I can't find one. They still sell it, too because I see them often.)

 

[dibbles]

I’ve tried this a couple of times in the past, and have made two small batches for this challenge. The biggest tip I can give you is to start at emulsion. Your batter will be thin and your circles probably won’t be well formed at the bottom, but will be perfect when you get toward the top. I tried starting at light trace and it wasn’t as successful. Those bars are going to need some serious planing to get the tops to look smooth.

 

[earlene]

Yes, I totally agree with you dibbles! I plan to make another one tonight if my son doesn't have plans for us. I brought along a minimum of supplies so I could do this and haven't done since on the road. I am bound and determined to have at least ONE success with this technique!

 

[Alzie]

1. dibbles - happy dancing!
2. shunt - going to try (if I have time)
3. amd - it's been on my "to try list" for several years
4. Misschief - I've tried a couple of times, time to perfect the technique!
5. Scard - I can dance...not! but I'll try
6. Artemis - we'll see if I have time to play!
7. jcandleattic - Maybe I'll actually have time to join this one?
8. BattleGnome - mold size vs squirt bottle size....
9. Primrose - better buy some squirt bottles ...
10. Mommycarlson - you can dance if you want to!
11. Roselyne - really hope I'll have time to make it!
12. Redhead1226 - Gonna give it a go! Nice challenge!
13. jules92207 - I’ve been MIA for a while, this is a good way to“dance” my way back
14. Alzie- first challenge, time to put on my dancing shoes!