questions about making wooden molds

[Sweet T]

Greetings!
My delightful husband will be making wooden molds for me as soon as I give him my desired dimensions and specifications. I have found several directions on how to make them, but I seem to be overwhelmed (as usual). I have a couple of questions. They might seem obvious but nothing about this is obvious to me yet!
1) How do I know how much soap will fit in the mold?
2) Should I have him make a lid? If so, what is the advantage?
3) Suggestions on your favorite style of mold and why. (built in cutting option? type of wood? hinged or pegged?)
4) Has anyone ever used a plastic drywall mud pan as a mold?
5) Does anyone have a preferred material (made or bought) other than wood for a "loaf" of soap? I know not aluminum or tin...
Any of your input would, as always, be priceless to me

 

[dcornett]

The formula for figuring oil needed for mold size is:
length x width x height x .40

I don't have a lid for my mold but it would be nice for when you want your soap to gel. I normally try to avoid gel phase.

My log molds have a break-away front, and I love it. Whether hinged or pegged I think it's pretty important for some part of the mold to be removable to make removing soap easier.

As for preferred material I like wood best for my log mold, but I do love the ease of removing soaps from a silicone mold. But everyone has differing opinions on that I'm sure. You'll just have to experiment to see what you like best.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

Mine are made of solid pine boards, they work very well. The front side does come off, it is pegged in.

 

[MeadowHillFarmCT]

I found a wooden box that had a divider at a flea market and use that. It is solid without any hinges or such. I lined it with he sign type plastic sheets and put fabric strips under the liner so I can just lift the whole thing out. I have a picture...

It is not the prettiest but it was $3

 

[Soapy Gurl]

I swear I had a pic of mine but I can't find it. I bought one that was un-varnished and it looks terrible. Oil all soaked into, yuck. The one my dad made me he varnished. It wipes right up when I spill soap and looks great.

 

[dOttY]

My husband makes my moulds. I have various sized ones. The only downside is, I have to line them with freezer paper. Easy process though. I also use thick rubber bands to secure the base to the mould.

 

[Dennis]

Mine were made following the Keith Brown videos on You Tube. They are cheap, easy to make, work well and do not look nearly as nice as his. Using his direction you can make any size you like. If you CPOP don't get carried away and make one longer than will fit in your oven as I did.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yog0-s9OsDA[/ame]

 

[Sweet T]

All of your ideas have been very helpful! I will have my husband make 2 molds that are 12 x 3 x 4 that have a hinged front (long side) so that it is easier to remove and also one that is 7 x 3 x 4 for smaller batches. I was going to make an even skinnier one for smaller facial bars or "hotel" size bars but have decided to try the pvc pipe for those. Do you think spraying the PVC with olive oil spray would help release the soap once it's ready to come out?

Also, what is the best way to cut them other than building another box for that purpose? I have considered making the boxes hinged on the ends so I could just slide it out and cut off the ends as I go. Might work better than hinging the long side...
Any thoughts on that?

 

[Dennis]

Also, what is the best way to cut them other than building another box for that purpose? I have considered making the boxes hinged on the ends so I could just slide it out and cut off the ends as I go. Might work better than hinging the long side...
Any thoughts on that?

Mine are pegged on the ends and I have wished they were hinged so I could just slice them out of the mold. I use a very thin bladed (read cheap!) bread knife and if the end were hinged I could use the end of the mold to keep the cut straighter (more straight? more straighter! hmm) :roll:
That would work ok as long as you are in hobby mode like me I suppose.

I've cut many a loaf using just this old bread knife.

Late note: After all of the slicing I just got real cutters in the mail from BB. Pretty cheap but now I have to make the real cutting box (maybe) I intended to make last week.

 

[Sweet T]

Dennis
I also bought a slicer (not the crinkle cut one though) from BB and I'm waiting for it to arrive with all of my other goodies so I can start making soap like crazy! I can hardly wait! I think I will go with the hinged ends and use the end as the guide like you mentioned. I don't know how it will work with the slicer but we shall see. If not, I will just have my man make me another slicer box...nbd. I also read somewhere that someone used a wire cheese slicer. hhhmmm...

WHAT YUMMY SOAP YOU MADE!!!! I am so inspired!

 

[Dennis]

Aw, shucks. Thanks.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

Olive oil will saponify, so you don't want to use it. You can line your mold with freezer paper, rub a light coat of mineral oil or vaseline on it.

Cutting your soap doesn't have to be a big deal. I use the measurement on the soap cutter, mark of increments and cut the soap on the counter. It works just fine!

 

[maya]

i made mine out of scrap wood and scrap plywood. 3/4 inch. no hinge, no anything. it's just a box but they work great. i have fancier ones made by a wood worker all done perfectly with beautiful japanese joined corners and everything. they work the same...

 

[Coop]

At Menards (like Lowes) and on an end cap they have scrap wood different lengths. Sorted through them til I found the lengths I wanted they were cheap!
The bottom piece is a slight bit more than an inch longer than the sides with the ends on the inside of the sides with pegs. I slide the soap out the end and slice back at sides. I use a cutter like in Dennis's pics. Hope that makes sense, dont have a pic. It does have to be lined.