Benefits/drawbacks to mold types?

[Laurabolyard]

When I first decided to give soaping a try, I bought a 3 and a 5 lb wooden loaf mold from Bulk apothecary, with a removable side and wing nuts.
I don't seem to see wooden molds used very often, is there a reason that many seem to prefer silicone?
I guess the obvious benefit would be not having to line silicone..
Is there any benefit to the wood, or did I simply waste money?!? Curious to know, before I purchase more molds!

 

[toxikon]

I'd say most of us use silicone-lined wooden molds - the best of both worlds! The wood provides support for the silicone and some insulation to promote gel. The silicone makes unmolding ridiculously easy and leaves your loaf smooth like marble on five sides.

 

[Laurabolyard]

Bulk apothecary doesn't sell liners for their molds. Do you think I will have trouble getting another vendors liner to fit properly?

 

[earlene]

I like wooden molds. I have a long wooden log mold that I bought second hand. It has a very thin silicone liner. I have bought some wooden boxes at thrift stores to use as molds, and line those with freezer paper. I also bought a small wooden drawer insert to use as a small slab mold, which I also line with freezer paper.

I also use silicone molds without a wooden support box. I do find that getting the soap in freezer paper out of a wooden mold is sometimes easier than with very thick silicone. Some of my silicone molds are made of a very thick silicone (the ED ones are quite thick) and even with SL, getting the soap out can be a bit more difficult. But for the most part, the silicone is easier for removal and the lines are usually smoother than without.

I don't think the wooden molds are a waste of money, unless you stop using them or don't use them very often. The benefit of insulating the soap could be worth it, but you can still insulate without the wood, so it's really a personal choice. However, carrying soap in a wooden mold is much easier for me than carrying soap in a silicone mold when it comes time to CPOP. To CPOP in silicone without a wooden support, I need a sturdy oven-safe tray upon which to transport the soap across the room.

 

[shunt2011]

I started with just wooden molds. After some time I got to where I disliked lining them.

So, I purchased BB silicone liners and my husband built me some wood molds that they would fit in. Worked perfect. I needed some replacement liners only to find out BB changed them and made them thicker which changed the size of the bars. So a new plan had to come in.

I then purchased 2 of Nurtures basic 7.5 lb molds. Loved them and in turn purchased 4 more. Those are my go to molds. The lids from the other molds fit them for insulating.

I now only line my 15 lb mold my husband made me years ago for large batches. So much easier.

 

[Laurabolyard]

I do find it pesky (and a bit wasteful), and not always so smooth to be lining the wood! I do like the sturdiness, and the removable side. I'm wanting to branch out. I'm not sure that I want to sink MORE money into my wood molds by buying a liner for it that may, or may not fit (although it WOULD save on freezer paper!). If I can find, inexpensively, I may.

 

[Laurabolyard]

I then purchased 2 of Nurtures basic 7.5 lb molds. Loved them and in turn purchased 4 more. Those are my go to molds. The lids from the other molds fit them for insulating.

Wood with a liner? I guess I'll go look!

 

[earlene]

You can make your own silicone liners to fit inside your wooden molds. I have not tried doing that myself, but there are plenty of instructional videos and tutorials on the web. I think it's a bit on the expensive side, though.

 

[Laurabolyard]

You can make your own silicone liners to fit inside your wooden molds. I have not tried doing that myself, but there are plenty of instructional videos and tutorials on the web. I think it's a bit on the expensive side, though.

Hmmm... worth a look!! Is silicone about the only thing you would try?

 

[dibbles]

I use the silicone lined wood molds from Nurture. I love them, but since they are 3.5 inches wide and longer than the BA mold I don't think you would be able to make them work for you. I didn't go check at BB, but most suppliers will provide measurements so you can see if there is something that might work for you. The silicone liners need to be supported, or they will bow when filled with soap. The stand alone silicone molds are sturdier.

 

[earlene]

Hmmm... worth a look!! Is silicone about the only thing you would try?

Some people use those flexible cutting sheets (like a cutting board, but made with thin plastic) to line their molds.

Here are some videos for silicone mold liner making:





Here's a thread about lining molds with mylar:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/permanent-mold-liner-mylar.54509/

Here is an tutorial on how to make a mold with plastic sheets (flexible chopping mats available at many stores in the kitchen supplies area):
http://www.lovinsoap.com/2011/05/diy-reusable-liners-bramble-berry-9-bar-slab-mold/

I believe mylar and the cutting mats are basically the same thing.

 

[artemis]

My two cents: I prefer my silicone molds for ease of use-- I hate lining my mold. However, mine are pretty small, which means they don't bow and they probably don't get hot enough to develop "silicone rash."

Today, I saw this tutorial for making a mold out of corrugated plastic. It's a good tutorial. I think I'll trying this for making a small slab mold. I think it would be useful for trying out a particular mold size before buying a "real" mold.

 

[earlene]

I bought some corrugated plastic to make a mold with, but haven't done it yet. Primrose made a mold out of corflute, as it's called in Australia. It's also called Coroplast. Apparently it goes by many names. Primrose posted about using her mold here with a photo.

 

[Laurabolyard]

Hmmm... great ideas there!!! In that Mylar thread, I saw mention of the silicone baking sheets, potential there too!

 

[Misschief]

My two cents: I prefer my silicone molds for ease of use-- I hate lining my mold. However, mine are pretty small, which means they don't bow and they probably don't get hot enough to develop "silicone rash."

Today, I saw this tutorial for making a mold out of corrugated plastic. It's a good tutorial. I think I'll trying this for making a small slab mold. I think it would be useful for trying out a particular mold size before buying a "real" mold.

I am SO happy you posted this. I've seen the technique on Pinterest but the link lead back to a website that was, clearly, translated from another language and very difficult to follow. Now that I've seen it done, it's so simple! I will definitely be using this technique to make some molds, especially since I have ready access to scrap coroplast (that's what we call it at work).

 

[Laurabolyard]

Great video artemis!!

 

[Seawolfe]

I still use wood and butcher paper for a bunch of reasons: I made a very custom mold (2 in x 4 in and 5 lb) that I can block off to smaller lengths giving me a ton of batch size options, paper and wood breathe better, I know that wood insulates better so no partial gel, I won't mess up my soap as badly if I unmold a little too soon, the paper makes a nice little work mat after unmolding to cut on or let the log dry a bit more, the mold itself has a cutting guide cut into it, no silicone rash, no silicone holding the previous EO, FO or colors, nice straight planes and corners, and I'm one of those weirdos who like the origami of lining the mold

 

[cmzaha]

Since I do not mind lining molds I still prefer my HDPE molds. I like that I can take them apart and wash them. I only make a slip liner and do not line the short ends. Since I am not always neat and tend to drip batter I much prefer something I can wash. I hate silicone because it takes longer to de-mold my soaps and I do not worry about silicone rash. I just line all my molds at once so they are ready to go

 

[IrishLass]

I have both wooden molds and silicone molds that I love, but my absolute favorite mold (the one I use the most) is the wood mold my sis gifted to me when I started getting into the full swing of making soap back in 2006. It was made by a fellow SMF forum member who seems to have dropped off the planet (haven't heard from him since 2012).

Anyway, I love it for it's versatility: it's a fully collapsible mold that's also convertible (i.e., it can be used either as a slab mold or as a log mold- the best of both worlds). I can either make 9 slab bars or 18 slab bars with it, or I can choose to use put the divider in it and make a small sample batch of 4 slab bars , or I can make one 2lb log or two 2lb logs in it.

It originally came with reusable, cut-to-fit Funky Foam liners, which I soon turned in for more sturdy heat-proof mylar liners that I cut to fit myself out of heat-proof Quilter's mylar (bought at Joanne's Fabrics). They give the sides of my soap a smooth-as-glass finish. It's been many years since I cut those liners out and they are still holding up great.

Besides those liners, I also have cut out a set of decorative, silicone fondant-mat liners for it, and also bubble-wrap liners. The bubble-wrap liners need to be replaced after every 2 or 3 uses, but the fondant mat liners are still holding up great after several years use.

Here's a link to what it looks like: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/thr...lp-me-decide-on-a-bar-mold.54118/#post-514940


IrishLass