Dawni
Well-Known Member
I've seen them! Let me look for you. They work for some designs where the rectangular ones cut off the nice parts. I think they're cute.
And oh, your prototype looks rad!
Finished design of my slab soap cutter
- Thread starter DWinMadison
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And oh, your prototype looks rad!
Oh my!!
A
amd
Actually the dimension is 1' 3-1/4" - or 15-1/4", not 13-1/4" (that would be 1' 1-1/4").
Which makes sense to use foot & inches notation to match your tape measure. The mechanical drafter in me wants it to be a clean notation (inches only) but the architectural drafter in me knows that the foot & inches notation is the correct way to do it. (Sorry... I felt the urge to chime in. I have a degree in architectural drafting and civil engineering, but worked as mechanical drafter for 14 years.)
This looks AMAZING!!!! Well Done YOU!
The free version of Sketchup is quite robust. I can save it to their work space, and he can view it there.
Hey @DWinMadison
So am I right - the vertical bar to which there appear to be three wires attached is pulled "forward" and the slab is cut in three pieces, then you flip the pieces 90 degrees and cut the other way, yielding 9 bars? Is the vertical bar designed such that you can add additional wires and / or reorient the positioning to adjust sizing?
This is freaking amazing!
I love when folks can do this kind of thing!
I was all chuffed with myself yesterday because I made four log loaf molds out of coroplast
THAT, I can do!
So am I right - the vertical bar to which there appear to be three wires attached is pulled "forward" and the slab is cut in three pieces, then you flip the pieces 90 degrees and cut the other way, yielding 9 bars? Is the vertical bar designed such that you can add additional wires and / or reorient the positioning to adjust sizing?
This is freaking amazing!
I love when folks can do this kind of thing!
I was all chuffed with myself yesterday because I made four log loaf molds out of coroplast
THAT, I can do!
Hey @DWinMadison
So am I right - the vertical bar to which there appear to be three wires attached is pulled "forward" and the slab is cut in three pieces, then you flip the pieces 90 degrees and cut the other way, yielding 9 bars? Is the vertical bar designed such that you can add additional wires and / or reorient the positioning to adjust sizing?
This is freaking amazing!
I love when folks can do this kind of thing!
I was all chuffed with myself yesterday because I made four log loaf molds out of coroplast
Yes, the table is designed such that you pull the cutting bar toward you allowing the wires to slice through the slab. I added the 2nd and 3rd wires on a whim thinking I was being smart, but thanks to Cal43 I realized that it's not the best design choice unless for some strange reason you want square bars. The wires cannot be adjustable left-to-right because of the slots necessarily cut into the table. SO, It's better to stick with the 1 single wire on the left side, slice in 1 direction, then change the guide block to get the other dimension of your soap cutting 1 row at a time. In other words, wires 2 and 3 are pretty much useless unless you are looking cut a slab into 3, 3.5" loaves. The single wire provides the most flexibility.
In my case for example, I would set the guide to cut my slab into 3.5" columns. I'd cut 1 column. Take it out. Move the remaining slab to the left. Make another cut, etc...
Then I would move the guide block to the right 1" reducing the cut width to 2.5."
I'd turn my now cut 3.5" columns 90 degrees, and pull the wire through again.
That will produce bars from my slab that are 3.5" x 2.5."
The other reason the single wire is more flexible to use is that I could also unmold my typical 3.5" W x 13.5" L x 2.5" H loaf, set the block to 1" (or any other width) and cut individual uniform bars from the loaf one at a time.
Does that even make sense? I love the ability to design first on the cumputer, so you can visualize and work out all the kinks (e.g. 3 wires is a dumb idea) before you waste the time building.
In my case for example, I would set the guide to cut my slab into 3.5" columns. I'd cut 1 column. Take it out. Move the remaining slab to the left. Make another cut, etc...
Then I would move the guide block to the right 1" reducing the cut width to 2.5."
I'd turn my now cut 3.5" columns 90 degrees, and pull the wire through again.
That will produce bars from my slab that are 3.5" x 2.5."
The other reason the single wire is more flexible to use is that I could also unmold my typical 3.5" W x 13.5" L x 2.5" H loaf, set the block to 1" (or any other width) and cut individual uniform bars from the loaf one at a time.
Does that even make sense? I love the ability to design first on the cumputer, so you can visualize and work out all the kinks (e.g. 3 wires is a dumb idea) before you waste the time building.
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The new version of Sketchup is web-based, so you don't have to download anything, and it's free. Just sign up for the account at www.sketchup.com, and under products choose sketchupfree.
I've uploaded the model to teh Sketchup 3D warehouse. If he the goes to 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com and searches for "slab soap cutting table" he'll see my design and can download it and play with it all her wants.
If he doesn't want to fool with all that, I've sent the .png flat files to his email.
I've uploaded the model to teh Sketchup 3D warehouse. If he the goes to 3dwarehouse.sketchup.com and searches for "slab soap cutting table" he'll see my design and can download it and play with it all her wants.
If he doesn't want to fool with all that, I've sent the .png flat files to his email.
Ok I’ll give him the info
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
There are a few of these with detailed instructions on how to make them on YouTube. Might be worth a look before you actually finalise your plans.
Looks good though.
Looks good though.
I looked at several and stole what I think are the best concepts from them with abandon.
I've enjoyed looking at your cutter designs (especially the cut-out images - those are always fun to see )).
In Catherine Failor transparent soap book, apparently there's a design for a flat bed soap cutter with a single (adjustable) wire fixed at one end (to push the soap through, like http://riverleasoap.blogspot.com/2011/02/making-wooden-soap-cutter.html) ...
I was wondering what advantages there are to having a moving cutter head over this type of design?
In Catherine Failor transparent soap book, apparently there's a design for a flat bed soap cutter with a single (adjustable) wire fixed at one end (to push the soap through, like http://riverleasoap.blogspot.com/2011/02/making-wooden-soap-cutter.html) ...
I was wondering what advantages there are to having a moving cutter head over this type of design?
Great question. I actually started with a moving-table design. What bothered me about it was all the space it would take up (basically twice the size of the table top) when fully extended. This design doesn’t require any additional clearance to operate, since all the movement happens under the table. Still all theoretical, of course.
I got all the pieces cut out this evening after work. Hopefully I can sand and paint tomorrow, assemble Saturday and possibly cut soap on Sunday.
I got the pieces all sanded and partially assembled last evening. I’m only planning to paint the top (the part that touches the soap) since this is a mock-up. I’m also not gluing, so (assuming it works) I can disassemble it and tweak the individual pieces as templates for the real thing and future builds. More to come...
I’m hoping to get the energy to make a slab to try it out. Gosh, I havent’t made a slab of soap in about 2 years for lack of a way to cut it. I’m not even sure where to start...
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