I bought a wooden mold which can be adjusted from 1 to 3 pounds. It came today in 5 separate pieces of wood and 2 bolts with nuts. The wood is nice and smooth but I'm guessing the guy has no clue soap is heavy. Is a wood glue strong enough to support soap or do I need to screw the sides and bottom together.
New wooden mold
- Thread starter Belinda02
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Meowmeow2d
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I found a wood box at a thrift store that was used to hold a bottle of wine. It is really thin, less than 1/2" thick and I don't see any screws. It holds about 3.5 lbs batch. It didn't fall apart on me. I've only made 1 batch so I don't know if it will with more useage.
If assembled right and the screws are tight, it will work just fine.
I contacted the seller. He was nice and informed me the wooden mold worked well and if I wanted to move after pouring in product to first put mold on cookie sheet. I've never seen a wooden mold constructed in such a way and feel he didn't fully describe the mold. I'll add a few screws and rate the product.
heather s
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I make my own molds and use wood glue and no screws. They have held up for years being banged, moved full of soap washed once in a great while with no problems. I don't do anything special just line and pour and bang and move lol. The wood is generally 3/4 inch thick. My smallest is 5 lbs and largest is 20 lbs. I wouldn't cpop in them - not sure if they would hold up-never tried.
Kansas Farm Girl
Well-Known Member
Belinda, properly glued wood joints are as strong or stronger than the wood surrounding the joint. I always use clamps when I am gluing wood pcs together to make sure they are tight and do not slide. I take it you were not expecting a DIY kit.
Yep, I've made many wood items that are meant for heavy use and are just glued.
I will say, however, that as a woodworker, I would have glued the parts that need to be fastened together before I shipped the product. Most "normal" people won't have the proper glue, clamps, or experience to do the job properly. Or I would have pre-drilled the holes for screws and shipped the proper screws along with the rest of the parts in the kit, so all the buyer had to do was insert and tighten the screws.
It will be difficult to clamp and accurately align slithery glued pieces, so you may want to drill holes and screw the pieces together -- you'll get a better result, IMO. No glue required in that case, unless you want to.
edit: I find myself curious about the mold ... care to share the source either here or by PM? I might be able to shed more light on the maker's intentions if I knew more about the design. I don't mean this in a bad way -- just wondering if my mental picture of the item is really what it is.
I will say, however, that as a woodworker, I would have glued the parts that need to be fastened together before I shipped the product. Most "normal" people won't have the proper glue, clamps, or experience to do the job properly. Or I would have pre-drilled the holes for screws and shipped the proper screws along with the rest of the parts in the kit, so all the buyer had to do was insert and tighten the screws.
It will be difficult to clamp and accurately align slithery glued pieces, so you may want to drill holes and screw the pieces together -- you'll get a better result, IMO. No glue required in that case, unless you want to.
edit: I find myself curious about the mold ... care to share the source either here or by PM? I might be able to shed more light on the maker's intentions if I knew more about the design. I don't mean this in a bad way -- just wondering if my mental picture of the item is really what it is.
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Blueridgewoodshop. My email from him tells me this is his finished product and meant to be used without the sides and bottom glued or screwed. The wood is nice and smooth. Dh has wood glue and next week I'll clamp and glue.
Kansas Farm Girl
Well-Known Member
I can see how not having the ends attached if it is adjustable, but not the sides. I want to be able to move my mold after I fill it. If the sides are just set on the base I would not be able to do that. I can see a disaster waiting to happen for me.
I looked at the Blueridgewoodshop Etsy shop and found this 1-3 lb mold: https://www.etsy.com/listing/180820875/3-to1-lb-adjustable-soap-mold
It looks to be nicely made, and I can see now why he's doing what he's doing.
One thing I can't tell from the photos and want to confirm -- is the bottom just a square-edged piece of wood that just sits inside the walls of the mold? Or are there little tongues that stick out of the long sides of the bottom piece? If there are tongues, they will fit into grooves cut into the side pieces.
The first way will work fine if the side screws are firmly fastened so there is plenty of friction to hold the bottom in place. I can see why you might be uncomfortable with this design, but for a relatively small mold like this, this approach will work fine. Soap is heavy, yes, but not that heavy.
The second way is admittedly more secure, however, due to the tongue-and-groove construction that ensures the bottom will stay put. The tongue-and-groove would ensure the bottom board is properly located as well. The molds I made for my soap have this tongue-and-groove design. They come completely apart and that's nice when removing soap from the mold.
If you look at the 6 lb mold, he's gone to a different method of assembly -- looks like the long sides are permanently fastened to the bottom. This mold is too long to count on friction to hold a simple square-edged bottom in place, although a tongue-and-groove design would work for this mold too.
It's surely your call if you want to fasten the sides to the bottom, and I do think there's a lot to be said for peace of mind. I think it would be good if the seller showed a picture of the mold disassembled and explain the proper way to assemble the mold, so buyers know in advance what they are getting. That said, I don't think the seller is trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes -- the molds will function properly as supplied, it's just not what you thought you were getting.
It looks to be nicely made, and I can see now why he's doing what he's doing.
One thing I can't tell from the photos and want to confirm -- is the bottom just a square-edged piece of wood that just sits inside the walls of the mold? Or are there little tongues that stick out of the long sides of the bottom piece? If there are tongues, they will fit into grooves cut into the side pieces.
The first way will work fine if the side screws are firmly fastened so there is plenty of friction to hold the bottom in place. I can see why you might be uncomfortable with this design, but for a relatively small mold like this, this approach will work fine. Soap is heavy, yes, but not that heavy.
The second way is admittedly more secure, however, due to the tongue-and-groove construction that ensures the bottom will stay put. The tongue-and-groove would ensure the bottom board is properly located as well. The molds I made for my soap have this tongue-and-groove design. They come completely apart and that's nice when removing soap from the mold.
If you look at the 6 lb mold, he's gone to a different method of assembly -- looks like the long sides are permanently fastened to the bottom. This mold is too long to count on friction to hold a simple square-edged bottom in place, although a tongue-and-groove design would work for this mold too.
It's surely your call if you want to fasten the sides to the bottom, and I do think there's a lot to be said for peace of mind. I think it would be good if the seller showed a picture of the mold disassembled and explain the proper way to assemble the mold, so buyers know in advance what they are getting. That said, I don't think the seller is trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes -- the molds will function properly as supplied, it's just not what you thought you were getting.
The screws do not hold the bottom secure when tightened. One screw is already stripped. There is no tongue and groove system. He clearly tells me in an email I must put a cookie sheet underneath if I need to move after product is in mold. Accident waiting to happen with zappy product everywhere. I'm gluing.
Oy. Well, I'd say you've called it properly, Belinda! It's a bummer that this is turning into such a hassle for you. 
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