Homemade soap beveler

[Todd Ziegler]

I got the blade mounted and it still needs some adjustment.

Here's some pictures of what happens when you don't pay attention to the depth of your drill bit. I can fix it and you won't even notice the mistakes.

I'm taking it to a friend of mine who has an electric wood planer and he is going to make it absolutely square, all the way around. Then we are going to install a fence on both sides to create a 90° angel for guiding the soap through.

 

[penelopejane]

I have the same worries as you do, that is why I ordered a piece of 1/4 inch acrylic. I'm going to make a blade out of it.
After I test it, to see if it works any better than the one's you can buy online, we may build a few to sell.
That's basically my intention for this one. It seems that bevelers/planers are either loved or hated by people on the forums. I just like making a good bar of soap with some eye appeal and if this works great, if not, no harm done.

I like the idea of planing but I am hopeless at it and end up with a wedge shape soap.
But I do bevel every soap. Customers like it - they don’t get cut on sharp sides of soap!
My bevel is tiny though. I just take the edge off. Since my acrylic blade is fixed this requires putting a thin piece of plastic on the bottom of the planer so the cut/bevel isn’t as thick. Such a pain. An adjustable acrylic blade or the ability to order the depth you want would be excellent!

 

[CathyB]

A tip I just learned from Royalty Soap's soap making videos--use a spoon to scrape the rough edges. It worked really well, and since I have problem controlling the veg peeler, so I'm going to give it a try. And the price is right!

 

[Malleebird]

A tip I just learned from Royalty Soap's soap making videos--use a spoon to scrape the rough edges.

Just tried this...and it works brilliantly ! A great tip, thanks CathyB
Perfect for someone like me who doesn't like hard sharp edges, but doesn't like the look of a really bevelled edge either....and can't do the vegetable peeler thing evenly enough It was so easy to achieve just what I wanted !

 

[shermluge]

I just finished the wood part of my beveler and as soon as I get the blade mounted, it will be ready to go. Saved some money and got a better product. Any comments or questions are welcome.

Todd !!! awesome work.. I've been thinking of making one and I'm glad you put a link to the blades.. I was looking for some good ones.. Now I'll start my build soon.

 

[Sparks]

I've been thinking about doing this too, as well as a wire soap cutter. Thanks for sharing this, you've inspired me.

 

[earlene]

Beautiful work. Todd!

The only problem I had with a wooden planer/beveler was that over time and with washing to get it clean, the wood warped a little bit from swelling, which created a mark on the surface of my soap. The blade never rusted, though.

If I had been confident in my skills or interested in sanding it down and refinishing the wood with a clear coating to make it water resistant, it could be repaired. I still have it and only use when I travel because the Acrylic replacement one I have is bigger & I'd rather it stays at home.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Beautiful work. Todd!

The only problem I had with a wooden planer/beveler was that over time and with washing to get it clean, the wood warped a little bit from swelling, which created a mark on the surface of my soap. The blade never rusted, though.

If I had been confident in my skills or interested in sanding it down and refinishing the wood with a clear coating to make it water resistant, it could be repaired. I still have it and only use when I travel because the Acrylic replacement one I have is bigger & I'd rather it stays at home.

Sorry for the late reply, had surgery. I thought about the warping problem too. So what I did is used a 2 inch piece of recycled hickory. It is at least 20 years old and by making it 2 inches thick warping should not be a problem. I also applied beeswax to the wood. I used a hot air gun to warm up the wood then I applied the wax. What didn't soak into the wood, I just heated it up until it melted in. Then I let the wood cool down and repeated the steps until the wood couldn't take any more. This will help repeat the water.

I have one more piece to install as soon as I am healthy enough. I will be installing a 4 inch fence on one side so I can hold my soap next to it while I push it through. This helps create a perfect right angle and squares my soap up.

I also took the piece to a wood shop and had them square the whole piece up by running it through a computer controlled sander.

I am basically just using this to clean up soaps that went wrong.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Todd !!! awesome work.. I've been thinking of making one and I'm glad you put a link to the blades.. I was looking for some good ones.. Now I'll start my build soon.

These were the cheapest blades I could find. Most of them were $20 or more. As long as you dry the blade after each use they won't rust. They are very sharp, I found out the hard way. I shaved a piece of my finger that was so thin I almost didn't notice.

 

[shermluge]

As long as you almost didn't notice, missing a piece of finger is okay...

 

[nframe]

Your planer looks great. Congratulations! I really like the picture of the soap with a bow on the top. Is the bow part of the mould or did you add it to the soap?

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Your planer looks great. Congratulations! I really like the picture of the soap with a bow on the top. Is the bow part of the mould or did you add it to the soap?

Thanks for the compliment. The bow is part of the mold and that mold was a gift from my friend Obsidian.

The beveler looks like the ones that you can get online but the material is different. We used a reclaimed 2 inch piece of hickory wood that we think is 20-25 years old. It is eco friendly and since it is so hard and thick, it should prevent warping.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

We don't have any drawn up plans but if anyone wants to try building one, I will be more than happy to help you out with it.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

As long as you almost didn't notice, missing a piece of finger is okay...

At first I didn't know how it happened but then I noticed the little piece of skin on the blade.

 

[Susie]

Prayers for a fast recovery!

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Prayers for a fast recovery!

Thanks, I am pretty much recovered. I just had a fatty tumor removed. I was in and out, in just 3 hours.

 

[Susie]

Lipomas are unsightly, but thankfully benign. They can pop up in the oddest of places, though. My dad had one on top of his head that grew to the size of an orange in less than two months. They had to do a skin graft for that one.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Lipomas are unsightly, but thankfully benign. They can pop up in the oddest of places, though. My dad had one on top of his head that grew to the size of an orange in less than two months. They had to do a skin graft for that one.

Yeah mine was 12 ounces.

 

[Susie]

Yeah mine was 12 ounces.

That's really large. Good thing you got it removed.

 

[CaraBou]

Looks great! I've always looked at my beloved beveler (wood & stainless steel) as potentially easy to replicate. But not for me because I don't have the equipment or skills! So I look forward to knowing how it turns out.