With regards to cutting soap into bars, most small-scale soapmakers are faced with 2 options: laborious hand-carving or the acquisition of expensive pre-fabbed cutters. However in short amount of time, you may create your personal customized soap cutter for $50 or less. This simple but effective cutter can slice up to 1,000 perfectly square and uniform bars each hour!
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| Soap Cutting Machine |
Materials needed for Cutting of Soap into Bars:
• 4ft x 4ft. sheet of plywood, at least 5/8" thick
• 4ft x 4ft. sheet of formica
• 24 ft. of 2x2 in. fir
• 8ft. of 2x4in. fir
• 3-4 dozen wood or drywall screws, 1-1/2" length
• 4-5 dozen wood or drywall screws, 2-1/2" length
• 2 dozen small metal washers, 3/8"
• hex-head carriage bolts (quantity of bolts is determined by number of cutting wires - read below to determine your particular needs)
• medium gauge guitar wire or 20 - 22 gauge music wire
• 1 pint contact cement
Cuts as much as 1000 bars per hour
Preliminary Considerations
Consider the finished cutter in the photo above. Basically, your soap cutter will resemble the main city letter L. The soap slab is first pushed down one length of the L where wires dissect the soap lengthwise. The slab is then fed in to the other leg from the L, where the bars are cut to their finished widths. How big this L depends entirely upon how big your soap slab. For instance, if you pour your soap right into a tray 12" wide by 18" long, the long leg of the L will be 18 x 2 =36 inches (to accomodate the lengths from the pre-cut and post-cut slab of soap). Add another 8 inches to that 36 inches to accomodate the 2 x 2 fir "rim" from the cutter as well as give extra maneuvering room for your slab. So for an 18" long slab of soap, one leg from the L must be about 44 inches long. For the width of the first L leg, add 12" (the width from the slab) plus 3 inches (the width of these two 2x2's on the borders), then add an extra inch for "slack." That's 16 inches wide. The length and width of the second leg of the L is going to be 18 inches wide (length of soap slab) plus 3 inches( two 2x2's along rim of cutter); add an extra inch for slack. The finished width will be 22 inches. The length of this L-segment is a maximum of 14-15 inches- this is the width of the slab along with a couple extra inches slack.
New! Read more information on determining cutter size by Michael McAuley
Procedure
1. After using the above factors into account then tailoring them to your own specific soap slab, measure and cut your plywood into the appropriate size. (Fig. 1)
2. Using those same dimensions, cut the formica into an L. You do not need special tools for scoring formica; a software application knife is going to do. Hold a ruler or T-square on the line you would like cut and gently but firmly score it several times with the knife. It'll snap along this line with light pressure.
3. Following instructions given on the contact cement container, spread cement within the surfaces of the formica and plywood, let dry until tacky, then press together. Make certain all warps are smoothed out. If any formica spends time at over the fringe of the plywood, saw or file off. (Fig. 2)
4. Now cut the 2 x 2's that will form the "rim" of the cutter. You will need pairs of four different lengths (4 lengths for the top of the cutter, 4 identical lengths for underneath). These 2x2's will be fastened along the sides from the L, but both ends of the L will be left open so that the soap feeds in one end then exits out the other.
5. Beginning with the formica-covered top side, sink 1 1/2 inch screws and fasten the 2x2's towards the bottom of the plywood. To prevent cracking the formica, pre-drill small holes before sinking the screws. (Fig. 3)
6. Using 2 1/2 inch screws, attach another set of four 2x2's to the top from the cutter. (Fig. 4)
7. Now cut four blocks, 2"x 4"x 8". These will form the "sidebars" which will be connected to the sides from the cutter. The 2 crossbars will ultimately be screwed onto these sidebars.
8. Next, cut two crossbars, using 2x4" lumber. The length of these will depend upon the size of your soapcutter. Referring to the example given under Preliminary Considerations, the width of 1 L leg was 16 inches, and the width from the other was 22 inches. Add 3 inches to each of these measurements to be able to obtain period of both crossbars. Your twocrossbars will consequently measure 19 inches and 25 inches.
9. With a straight-edged ruler or T-square, draw a line lengthwise downthe middle of both crossbars. The guide holes for the wire is going to be drilled along this line. The spacing for the wire holes will be based entirely upon the dimensions you cutyour bars. For that hypothetical soap slab measuring 12x18 inches, let'ssay the slab is cut into 2x3 inch bars. So as the soap slab is pushed down the long, narrow neck from the L-shaped cutter, five wires will cut the slab into six 2-inch wide strips. These strips will be pushed through five wires on the other leg of the L which divide the strips into six 3-inch long bars. The 12x18 inch slab therefore yields 36 bars.
Now to the crossbars.
The line drawn on the 19-inch crossbar will be scored with pencil by 50 percent inch intervals. However mark an "X" at one end; this will be the end that rests within the outside edge of the cutter (the advantage your soap slab always follows). For the to begin 5 wire holes, measure in five inches from the "X"-ed end of the wood and mark that spot on the line.(The very first 3 of these 5 inches considers the 1 1/2 widths of the sidebar and rim.) Now pencil 4 more spots along the line, each spaced 2 " apart. With a small drill bit, use these guidemarks to bore five holes with the 2x4 crossbar.
The 25-inch crossbar will likewise require to be marked and drilled. Mark one end with an X and measure in 6 inches from that end for your first mark (again, the first 3 of these 6 inches is a result of the widths from the sidebar and rim). This crossbar holds 5 wires which cut the bars into 3 inch widths, therefore the marks will consequently need to be made in 3 inch intervals. Then drill each hole completely with the 2x4.
10. Corresponding holes for both crossbars will have to be drilled on the surface of the soap cutter itself.
About the narrow, long leg from the L a straight line (perpendicular towards the sides) needs to be ruled across the surface of the cutter. For the hypothetical 12"x18" slab, this line is going to be drawn at least 18 inches in the end from the cutter so the entire slab of soap rests squarely about the cutter's surface before being fed with the first group of wires. Otherwise, area of the slab will hang over the cutter's edge, resulting in less control over the movement from the slab with the wires. To have an 18 inch long slab, considering drawing the line 19 inches in the end, with an extra inch added as "slack."
Beginning with the inside edge of the outer 2x2" rim, pencil in five marks spaced at 2-inch intervals along the drawn line. Drill 5 holes with the plywood.
For that wider leg of the L-shaped cutter, another line will need to be ruled. The place of the line is going to be determined by the 12-inch width from the hypothetical soap slab, so allow 12 inches between your line and also the end of the soap cutter.
After determining where you can locate this line, mark the first hole 3 inches in from the inner edge of the 2x2" rim. Mark 5 holes, 3 inches apart, then drill.
11. Before screwing the sidebars and crossbars towards the cutter, you might like to make sure the holes about the crossbar line up with the holes on the cutter surface. If the holes don't match at 90 degree angles, the wires will be askew, marring the finished shape of your soap bars.
As a result, set the bottom blocks in place(don't attach) then lay the crossbars on top; flip the crossbars on their sides so that the drill holesare because. Rest one edge of a small L-square about the cutter surface and appearance matching top and bottom holes for alignment. Re-drill any holes if required.
12. Now attach the four 6-inch sidebars towards the sides of the cutter using 2-1/2" screws. To insure even alignment of the sidebars with the wire holes drilled about the cutter surface, draw a line lengthwise with the middle of every 6-inch block. When screwing the blocks onto the cutter sides, make sure the lines with the middle of the blocks are relatively even with the line of holes on the cutter surface.
13. Attach the 2 crossbars to the sidebars with 2 1/2 inch screws.
14. You're ready to begin wiring the cutter.
The wires for the soap cutter will be mounted on 3/8" hex-head carriage bolts, which function in exactly the same way a tuning key on a guitar or piano does. The wire is tightened by turning the bolts sunk in to the crossbars.
The amount of bolts you will need is determined by how many bars your soap slab is cut into. If we again refer to the 12x18 inch soap slab (cut 6 bars wide by 6 bars long), 5 vertically-strung wires is going to be required for each leg of the L-shaped cutter. Two wires will share one carriage bolt; both crossbars will therefore require 3 bolts apiece, for any total of 6 carriage bolts.
An opening must be drilled through the upper shaft of every bolt. This can be done yourself by clamping the bolt in a vise and drilling; each bolt will take a few minutes of drilling time. Or else you can have a machine shop do it for you personally.
Holes for that carriage bolts now have to be drilled into the top of each crossbar. Since two vertical wires share one bolt, drill the carriage bolt holes somewhere between the wire holes. Make use of a 5/16" drill bit for the 3/8" bolts. A rather undersized hole is important, otherwise the tension within the tightened wire loosens the bolt in its channel, leading to slack wire. Drill completely through the 2x4 inch crossbar and sink the bolt 1/4" to 1/2" into the wood.
15. To wire your cutter, thread a length of wire (approximately 1 1/2 to two feet long) through the hole in the bolt, loop the wire once round the bolt then tie the wire in a single knot. You'll probably need pliers to do this. Stop any excess wire.
16. Now tighten the wires by turning the carriage bolts clockwise. Before the wires are completely tight, flip the cutter over and adjust the washers. Each hole should have a washer resting squarely underneath it; this keeps the wire from cutting in to the soft plywood once the wires are further tightened. Give your wires your final tightening.
Your cutter is complete!
Tips on making use of your soap cutter:
1. When pushing your soap through the cutter, push inside a diagonal direction: in to the outside rim of the cutter as well as forward through the wires. Should you only push forward, the soap can wobble, resulting in wavy" soap bars.
2. Use a small block or board to push the soap. Celebrate for additional even, consistent pressure on the slab.
3. Following the soap continues to be pushed through the first set of wires, you might like to flip all the strips up onto their sides for the next go through. If there is any wobbling in this cut, it does not show on barswhich are standing on their ends. Bars which lie flat through the second pass can have any and all inconsistencies.
4. For easy pushing, lightly mist the formica surface using a spray bottle filled with water. This easesthe friction between soap and cutter surface.
5. In case your 2x2 inch rims on the outside of the cutter are somewhat rough, you might want to sand them smooth and/or shellac them. This helps the soap pass more easily and cleanly with the cutter.
6. If your raw soap slab arrives of their mold with imperfect sides (because of wrinkle marks from the plastic liner, for example) which need "cleaning" before being cut into bars, you might want to think about a slightly different wire configuration than the one given above. Instead of setting your first wire a bar's width from inner fringe of the cutter's rim, set this wire only eighth inch out of the rim. As the rough soap slab operates through, a eighth-inch thin sliver of soap will be shaved in the rough edge. Likewise, set the outermost wire an eighth of an inch closer in, to ensure that a corresponding sliver is going to be shaved in the other part of the block. If you align both sets of wires within this fashion, all sides of the slab will be cleanly and evenly cut. A little extra scrap is generated this way, but time and effort is saved which may well be spent on cosmetic makeovers for your soap.
7. Should you pour your soap slab 2 bars thick, you can divide the block horizontally by sinking a carriage bolt into a sidebar and weaving a horizontal wire through the first group of vertical wires. Two holes will have to be drilled with the sidebars and rims from the cutter, so it's best to plan ahead and do that drilling before screwing these pieces towards the cutter surface. If your soap is one inch thick, the two holes must be drilled through the rims (and sidebars) one inch above the surface of the cutter. The wire can be screwed right down to sleep issues of the cutter in the same fashion that any "odd-numbered" wire is screwed to the underside of the cutter in Step 15 above. In case your soap slab is 3 bars high, you may have trouble pushing the soap through, since that much wire will offer lots of resistance.
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