itsmejeffd

Glad I could help?!? Next time, if you need more help, I'd be glad to sell him some of my candles.

I also make a no-liner mold out of the same HDPE material as Kelsei and Soap Hutch. I can make it to whatever size you want. Soapmaker man on this forum also makes high quality molds out of wood.

Lye (sodium hydroxide), alone, is never safe for your skin. Too much lye used in a soap recipe will burn your skin. That's why it's always recommended to run your recipe through a soap calculator. When a lye solution (NaOH + H2O) is mixed with oil(s), the mixture saponifies to make soap. This means that the lye has reacted with the oil and becomes inert. If too much lye solution is used, there will not be enough oils to saponify and the mixture will be "lye heavy" meaning that there is left-over lye in the mixture. This left-over lye will typically cause skin irritations. If not enough lye is used, the recipe is said to have a superfat percentage. This is generally harmless and, usually, good for the skin. But, if a superfat recipe is used on very oily skin, it can cause pore blockage, irritation and sometimes infection.

http://aaa-chemicals.com/sodium-hydroxide-technical-grade.html

http://www.aaa-chemicals.com/sodium-hydroxide-technical-grade.html

Your ratio is going to depend on your recipe. Personally, I use a 33% solution (2 parts H2O : 1 part NaOH). I store it in an empty 1 gallon plastic water jug.

My question is: Why aren't you sharing what you're obviously smoking. I want some too!

Wish my wife would get into it as much as you ladies.

I've had very good luck with CD wicks at up to 9% FO.

I got 20 of these 18" x 26" trays too for $7.95 each. They're a very heavy aluminum. I just have to put a piece of freezer paper under the soap.http://www.lonestarrs.com/index.cfm?type=service&id=26&ln=f&area=Shopping&action=GetProduct&productid=2490

Not quite as nice as your avatar's rack.

Just got this yesterday. It will comfortably hold 1440 bars of soap. I could probably squeeze over 1500 bars on it. http://www.lonestarrs.com/index.cfm?type=service&id=26&ln=f&area=Shopping&action=GetProduct&productid=3582

I don't know what it equals in I.U.'s but I use 1/10 oz of T-70 Tocopherol per lb of oils. You have to use more than that if you're using T-50.

I've left soap in a mold for that long and more without a problem. I don't see how it could ruin the soap. Hope everything is ok.

There are a couple people on this board who make soap molds. I make an HDPE mold cutomized to your requirements. Soapmaker Man makes some out of wood that have gotten some very good reviews. He also makes a cutter and beveler.

The boiling temp. of water can vary depending on your altitude and barometric pressure. Water boils at 212*F or 100*C at sea level with a barometric pressure of 29.92 in of mercury. The higher your elevation and lower your barometric pressure, the lower the boiling point of water and vice-versa. Try putting water in a pressure cooker with a thermometer and see how hot the water gets. Here's a good calculator to get an estimate of your corrected boiling temp. http://www.csgnetwork.com/prescorh2oboilcalc.html It doesn't take into consideration your elevation but barometric pressure is more important because the higher your altitude, typically, the lower your barometric pressure is. You can easily find your barometric pressure by going to your local news web site's weather section. Barometric pressure is more important because it all has to do with vapor pressure. Think of the air above you as a weight pressing down. The more the air weighs, the harder it is for the water vapor to release and that builds up the temp.

Just handing them to the parents but still giving the kids a treat in their bag isn't bad. My problem is when people (and this started happening last year) put their free samples, post cards and invitations directly into my son's bag. Last thing I want for my son when he gets home and dumps out his bag is for it to be filled with these things. How disappointing would that be for any child? Halloween and other holidays (especially Christmas) have become too commercialized already. I get solicitations in the mail and email every day. I get phone solicitations less frequently now that my number is on the national do not call list but even one is still too many. If one person did it last year then 5 people will do it this year and 10 the next. Where will it stop?

That's why I make my own molds. I give them an extremely fine finish and the soap comes out very easily. I would recommend using some kind of mold release agent like Pam cooking spray or mineral oil to line the mold next time.

Hi Christy, You can send me a PM or an email @ jeff@loganbearcandles.com

WHAT?!? You've got to be kidding. All candles require a curing time to smell their best. Though some may be shorter than others. 4627 has a great hot and cold throw after about a week of curing. Granted, not all FO's work well with all waxes but it's seldom that I have a problem at 6% to 9%. Oh, and try adding your FO at 190*.

Ok, let's see. 1) This one is a 6 lb mold but I only supply 1 divider so you can only divide it into 2. If you want another divider and divider clamp, we could talk. 2) Standard width is 3.5" but I can make it to whatever you want. The height depends on how much soap you put into it. I make a standard size mold to give you 3" of height but I could make it deeper if you wanted. 3) The adjustable divider, adjustable cutting guide (I do not supply the cutting blade) and lid are all separate options. 4) The price of a mold varies depending on the size. A 3 lb mold with no options is $55 and a 6 lb mold with no options is $70 with other sizes and prices in between. The options cost $5 each for the lid and cutting guide and the divider with divider clamp is $10. 5) Comparable size slab molds will give you the same number and size bars as a log mold. I can also space the dividers to whatever dimensions you want. The slab molds are $10 more because they use more material and are a bit more time consuming. The only options available on the slab molds are the dividers to make individual bars for $10 and a lid for $10. Again, the difference in price for the options is because of how much material is used.

Hi guys, I make my molds from HDPE so you don't have to use a liner. I can custom make them to any size you want. Most of the molds I've been making for people on this board so far have been log molds. Devil Woman and Texas Brat have some of my 18 bar slab molds. I don't have a picture of my slab mold yet but I plan to do that this weekend. Here are some pics of one of my latest log molds. The first one shows the divider set in the middle so you can make 2 separate batches at once. The divider can be set anywhere in the mold so you can make two 3 lb batches or a 2 lb and 4 lb or whatever you want. The second one shows the divider all the way to one side to make one 6 lb batch. You can also see the adjustable cutting guide option. You can adjust the guide to whatever dimension you want to give you equal size bars every time. The pieces in the background are the divider clamp and 1", 2" & 3" spacers for quickly adjusting the cutting guide. The spacers are 1/2" thick so you can stand one up on end to adjust it in 1/2" increments. The last picture shows a log of soap set up in the cutting guide and how it works. Also, Mslegacy posted some pics of a mold I made for her with a new batch of soap in it here.

I see the bars of soap screaming at eachother. That one cracked me up. Hope it wasn't my mold you had a problem getting the soap out of.

If you ever go to a psychiatrist to have a Rorschach inkblot test done, I want to be there. Either that or I want some of what you're smoking.

Thanks to Tammy, the prices have now doubled. If anyone has an issue with that, you know who to thank. JK. Thank you for the kind words, Tammy.