Easy to make wood mold.

[ngian]

No need to cut the bracket. Counter sink the bolt head into the mold so it's flush. Then set the bolt into the side of the mold with contact cement. The bolt would then become a mounted stud and can stay inside the wood at all times. Just release the wing nut and let the side fall.

Never mind. I just looked at your original mold pics and that wouldn't work with this design. That's one of the reasons I stayed away from using hinges. I find the simplest solutions/plans usually work out the best. Yours is still a good design though and cutting the L bracket to allow it to slip should work.

I just did my second and final update on my wooden mold and although it had many things to solve / be done, I'm very satisfied with the final product.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Glad it works, but I still prefer the original idea - where it all comes apart with holes/screws on the part that is outside of where the soap itself will go.

I am working on a mould on a similar principle to Beachy's one, but vertical.

 

[JustBeachy]

I just did my second and final update on my wooden mold and although it had many things to solve / be done, I'm very satisfied with the final product.

That looks like it will work. Nice job.

 

[JustBeachy]

Glad it works, but I still prefer the original idea - where it all comes apart with holes/screws on the part that is outside of where the soap itself will go.

I am working on a mould on a similar principle to Beachy's one, but vertical.

Post some pics when you build it Craig. Someone else was talking about a vertical mold. Maybe it would help them out.

Someone else posted a mold with hinges that was pretty cool, but the rubber band would keep me from CPOP.

Love the ingenuity.

 

[Cindy2428]

Fantastic! I love how these ideas keep building on each other. My basement workshop is getting there and I can't wait to try this. Thanks Beachy, Daryl and the other contributors for this awesome mold.

 

[Seawolfe]

I want to make a 5 lb mold that makes tall bars rather than wide bars!! I have access to the woodshop at work, and I might even have enough wood hidden there as well.

But could someone please help me with my measurements?

"For a 5lb mold make these 19 1/4 inch" - so 2 sides and bottom need to be 19.25 inches long

So say I want my inside measurements to be about 2.5 wide and 4 high (not really fussed, I just want nice tall bars) - what sizes do I need to cut?
Edit to add: no wait - I want the inside measurement to be 2 inches, so then I can make 2.5 lbs of bars 2 high by 2 side OR 5 lbs of bars 2 wide by 4 high!!

I think I need more coffee....

 

[abc]

I want to make a 5 lb mold that makes tall bars rather than wide bars!! I have access to the woodshop at work, and I might even have enough wood hidden there as well.

But could someone please help me with my measurements?

"For a 5lb mold make these 19 1/4 inch" - so 2 sides and bottom need to be 19.25 inches long

So say I want my inside measurements to be about 2.5 wide and 4 high (not really fussed, I just want nice tall bars) - what sizes do I need to cut?

I think I need more coffee....

I am going to Lowes today. I plan on making a tall and skinny mold. I will use a 1x3 for the bottom (actual measurements of the wood is .75"x2.5") and a 1x5 for the sides (wood is 4.5" wide then less the .75" thickness of the bottom should make the inside height 3.75")

ETA: if you want the inside to measure 4", a 1x6 would give you about 4.75" inside depth, unless you rip it down

 

[JustBeachy]

I want to make a 5 lb mold that makes tall bars rather than wide bars!! I have access to the woodshop at work, and I might even have enough wood hidden there as well.

But could someone please help me with my measurements?

"For a 5lb mold make these 19 1/4 inch" - so 2 sides and bottom need to be 19.25 inches long

So say I want my inside measurements to be about 2.5 wide and 4 high (not really fussed, I just want nice tall bars) - what sizes do I need to cut?
Edit to add: no wait - I want the inside measurement to be 2 inches, so then I can make 2.5 lbs of bars 2 high by 2 side OR 5 lbs of bars 2 wide by 4 high!!

I think I need more coffee....

Ok, one of us needs more coffee, but it might be me. I'm a little confused as to what you're saying.

The 5lb mold at 19.25 inches long, is assuming a 3.5 inch width. If you're trying for a 4 inch high bar on the "tall bar", you either rip the boards to the right size, or use a 1x6 for the sides. This would give you a interior height of 4.75 inches total. So you'd have some room to play with textured tops.

The bottom board would have to be ripped down to 2 inches. Preferably on a table saw if there's one in the shop. You want the edges to fit flush against the sides. Or like ABC pointed out, you could just use a 1x3 if you're not dead set on the width being 2".

I would also recommend using two bolts on each end, since the height of the mold is going to be increased. If you go with the 1x6 sides, just drill two holes on each end instead of one.

Unless someone gets to it before I do, I'll build one this weekend to see how it works.

 

[JustBeachy]

I have some at home. When we get back from Orange Beach I'll post pics. If you are planning to use them and building your own molds, I'd plan on adding 1/3" a 1/2" in width to all dimensions to accommodate for their thickness. These would work fantastically with your mold design.

Be sure to use a straight-edge like a ruler and be slow and patient in making your cuts.

I tried this this weekend, and it works pretty good. Adding the extra dimensions to the top would be fairly easy, but adding it to the bottom board might pose some problems for people without a table saw. That's the main reason I tried to keep the dimensions tied into what you could buy and not have to rip.

Still the soap release well, but I've gotten so fast at lining molds with freezer paper, it's really not a big deal for me. Plus, I did see some air hole speckling like you get when you try to CPOP with silicone inserts. Have you tried CPOP with these? Mine might have just been a fluke.

 

[Seawolfe]

So if I wanted a mold to make a 5 lb loaf of soap, and I wanted the loaf dimensions to be 2 inches wide by 4 inches high (which means 4.75 or 5 inches on the sides is fine), how long should it be?

Edit to add: good point about doubling on the end bolts, that's easy enough. And yes I have access to table saw and drill presses and lotsa stuff.

 

[JustBeachy]

So if I wanted a mold to make a 5 lb loaf of soap, and I wanted the loaf dimensions to be 2 inches wide by 4 inches high (which means 4.75 or 5 inches on the sides is fine), how long should it be?

Edit to add: good point about doubling on the end bolts, that's easy enough. And yes I have access to table saw and drill presses and lotsa stuff.

Cut the sides at 19.25 long. Then drill your holes the same distance from the ends as the original mold. This will put you inside length, after putting in the end pieces at 16 inches.

Then you should be at 2x4x16x .40 = 51.20 oz of oil. That is just a hair under 5lbs of soap, before cure. 78.57 ounces to be exact.

 

[abc]

I was unable to get to Lowe's. An unplanned detour to the tire store robbed me of my play money for now. :-|

 

[JustBeachy]

I was unable to get to Lowe's. An unplanned detour to the tire store robbed me of my play money for now. :-|

Bummer! I have a work truck that likes to do that to me. But I've had it since it had 12 miles on it, bought in 1999. It's become a love/hate relationship. haha

 

[DWinMadison]

So if I wanted a mold to make a 5 lb loaf of soap, and I wanted the loaf dimensions to be 2 inches wide by 4 inches high (which means 4.75 or 5 inches on the sides is fine), how long should it be?

Edit to add: good point about doubling on the end bolts, that's easy enough. And yes I have access to table saw and drill presses and lotsa stuff.

I'd add 1/8" to each end...1/4" total.

 

[Seawolfe]

I'd add 1/8" to each end...1/4" total.

For the length, right?

 

[JustBeachy]

I'd add 1/8" to each end...1/4" total.

Well, that would take you up over 5lbs by .25 ounce Up by a total of almost one ounce, divided by 16 bars, is...well very little

It dawns on me that I've never taken an average of what my soaps cure out to. In other words, what the average weight loss is per bar. You'd have to keep your liquid % constant. But it would come in handy to have an actual percentage. Then you could just add your percentage into your recipe and adjust the mold size for how much pre-cure batter you would need to actually hit, say a 5lb cured batch.

Soapmaker3 allows you to enter a percentage for water loss during hot process, but not for cure time for cp.

For all you sellers, does anyone track their average weight loss during say a 2 month cure? Also, if you have tracked it, what's your normal water percentage.

I'm going to start some tracking on this, but obviously, earliest results will be two months from now. haha

 

[JustBeachy]

For the length, right?

Yeah, just make the sides and bottom 19.5 and then drill the same distance as normal from the ends.

 

[DWinMadison]

Well, that would take you up over 5lbs by .25 ounce Up by a total of almost one ounce, divided by 16 bars, is...well very little

It dawns on me that I've never taken an average of what my soaps cure out to. In other words, what the average weight loss is per bar. You'd have to keep your liquid % constant. But it would come in handy to have an actual percentage. Then you could just add your percentage into your recipe and adjust the mold size for how much pre-cure batter you would need to actually hit, say a 5lb cured batch.

Soapmaker3 allows you to enter a percentage for water loss during hot process, but not for cure time for cp.

For all you sellers, does anyone track their average weight loss during say a 2 month cure? Also, if you have tracked it, what's your normal water percentage.

I'm going to start some tracking on this, but obviously, earliest results will be two months from now. haha

Hey Beachy, I'm sorry. I thought the writer was asking for purposes of calculating the size of the wooden mold.

 

[JustBeachy]

Hey Beachy, I'm sorry. I thought the writer was asking for purposes of calculating the size of the wooden mold.

Absolutely no reason to apologize. I thought it raised a great point. Basically, could we design a mold that would have the size based on a finished product size instead of "before cure". I'm always open to input on my idea's.

 

[JustBeachy]

I'm goofing off today. Sometimes it's nice to be the boss. Threw together a Tall and Skinny Mold out of some wood I had in the garage. Maybe it will help with the visual aspect of building one of these.