Make your own Soap Mould (mould)

Make Your Own Soap Mould
Many thanks to Penny, from Get Back to Basic Living, who has graciously allowed us to post her entry on making a soap mould/mould.
You can see her original post here and her blog here

When I first started making hand made soap, I used what new soapers' typically use as a mould - a shoe box lined with wax paper. This mould works very well, and for anyone making their first batch or two of soap, I highly recommend using a shoe box or any other similar box.

But after a few batches of soap, I wanted a soap mould that would hold up and provide more uniformly shaped bars. I ordered one on-line and it worked very well. I still have it and still use it. But it was rather expensive, only made about 1.5 pounds of soap at a time, and the bars were rather small for my tastes.

I have a couple of hand made soap boxes now that I just love. Bernie made one for me that makes 6 pounds of soap, and I use it most of the time. I also have one that makes up to 3 pounds of soap, and I use that one quite often as well.

I am going to show you the smaller soap box and explain how it is made

As I said, this soap box will make up to 3 pounds of soap. I recommend making a lid for it as shown above, but that is not absolutely necessary.

What you will need:
Plywood (or similar) cut as follows:
1 piece 17 1/2 inches by 6 1/2 inches (this is the bottom of the mould)
2 pieces 17 1/2 inches by 4 1/2 inches (these are your sides)
2 pieces 4/12 inches by 3 3/4 inches (these are your ends)
2 6 inch bolts
4 washers (that fit bolts)
2 wing nuts (that fit bolts)
4 small hinges
1 roll of heavy duty non-stick oven liner (optional - but highly recommended)

Once your plywood is cut, but sure to sand any rough edges.

Now it’s time to assemble it.

You will want to drill holes through the two side pieces - be sure to make these just slightly larger than your bolt size. Drill the holes 1 1/2 inch from the end of your plywood on each end. Your bolts are going to slide through these holes, so be sure they are in the same place on each side piece of wood.

Now, you want to install your hinge to attach the two side pieces to the bottom of the mould. The outside edge of each side piece should be 1 inch from the outer edge of the bottom. Install each hinge about 4 1/2 inches from each end of the bottom piece. Be sure to install them so that the sides can flap OPEN.

When you are finished, you should be able to run your bolts through both side pieces, with washers on each end, and a wing nut on one end like this:

Now insert the small end pieces on the INSIDE of each bolt. Be sure they are snugly against the bottom of the soap mould and tighten the wing nuts as snugly as you can.

If you are using oven liner, cut two pieces to cover both end pieces, being sure to leave enough to wrap around the sides so that you can staple them in place. Cut a piece that will fit the inside of your soap mould and crease it to fit snugly inside the mould.

If you are not using oven liner, be sure to line your soap mould with wax paper before each use.

Now you are ready to fill it with your favourite soap recipe!

To remove the finished soap, simply remove the wing nuts, remove the bolts, lay the side pieces down flat, pull away the oven liner (or wax paper) and end pieces, and viola! You have a log of soap to cut into bars of your desired size!