It’s been said that the sky is the limit, and that was definitely my inspiration for the mold I’d like to share with you all this evening. While I love molds like our 5 lb. loaf mold and our 9 bar wood mold, sometimes you have to get vertical! The Vertical Wood Mold allows you to do some creative swirling techniques that would otherwise be difficult, and it’s fantastic for layering different colors.
I especially love this mold because it holds up to four pounds of soap, and it’s held together with wingnuts which makes prepping for unmolding your soap super easy. The actual in molding takes a bit of patience and elbow grease but it’s worth it. Just remember: this mold is for hot and cold process soap only, and using it with melt & pour would result in a soapy overflow!
There are a ton of fun projects to try with this mold, and some of my favorites include the Vertical Sandalwood Vanilla Soap, Yellow & Gray Layer Soap and the Palm-Free Vertical Twist.
Here is just a few examples of the kind of beautiful swirls you can achieve with this mold. These soaps were made by the lovely Kat at Otion, the soap making bar.
Ready to reach for the top? Check out the Vertical Wood Mold on Bramble Berry’s website, and then get to soaping! I’d love to see your creations in our comments section or on our Facebook page too! Sometimes if you need a little soapmaking inspiration, all you have to do is look up =)
I recently got the vertical mold and tried out the Black and White soap recipe from Anne-Marie’s new Soap Crafting book. I let it sit in the mold for 4 days and then tried to unmold it. It seemed too soft prior to that. I had an extremely difficult time removing the plastic liners. It took all my might to push and shove at them which didn’t do the soap any good. Should I have left it longer? Should I add sodium lactate? Any advice? Thanks!
Hi Debbie!
If you are having problems with your recipe being a little too soft, we would suggest adding either Sodium Lactate or a salt-water solution.
Sodium Lactate: https://www.brambleberry.com/Sodium-Lactate-P5127.aspx
Salt-Water Solution: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/palm-free-vertical-twist-tutorial/
Sometimes, you will even need to leave the soap in your mold a full week if it is still really soft. If you could tell us a bit more about what happened, we would be more than happy to help you troubleshoot. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
I guess what I want to know is do the liners get easier to remove as the soap cures? It sounds like if the soap is still a bit on the soft side then the liners will stick and not be able to be removed. If I left the soap to cure a few days longer so that it was harder then the liners would come off easer. In other words: soft soap=stuck liners. hard soap=removable liners. Do I have this right?
Hi Debbie!
Once the soap gets a bit harder, it is easier to remove from the liner in the molds, so you have that absolutely correct. If you have other wooden loaf molds of ours, I would suggest checking our our Silicone Liners which make unmolding your soaps a breeze. You can find them here:
https://www.brambleberry.com/Search.aspx?k=silicone+liner
I hope that this helps! 🙂
-Becky with Bramble Berry
I found the Dave Fisher web site interesting, as well as Becky’s explanation to Lucy. However, they have conflicting information. Dave F says that getting the cubic inches and multiplying by .40 will give you the amount of OILS you need (in ounces), while Becky says its the amount of soap. So I went to work and did my own calculations and it seems to me that Dave F is correct and Lucy will be very short of soap.
But why go through all these calculations? I just fill the mold with water, pour into a large measuring “cup” and close enough!! (Plus I enjoy having some bits left over to try in new molds for future project ideas.)
That said, I so appreciate all the fabulous information on your blogs from the BB staff as well as other bloggers and I thank you for your valuable help.
Hi Sly!
Thanks for spotting that (it was actually supposed to say oils)! We go through these calculations because water and soap actually weigh differently and when you are soaping, you always want to go by weight instead of by volume (you get more precise measurements that way).
We give these calculations out to soapers because many of them want that exact number so that they do not waste any of their soaping ingredients. I think it’s fabulous that you’ve figured out a quick an easy way that works for you, and we appreciate you sharing it with us. =)
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
omygoodness !!! thank you for this simple calculation !!!
I have been playing around with odd and sundry molds for 2 years now, ( pringle cans, silicone icecube trays etc… and always have to have a few other little ones for overflow… the kids roll their eyes at pink gingerbread guys and honey oatmeal christmas trees however… now I can be far more exact !
and I did just order the 5 lb wooden mold !! hurrah for me !
laur
Good morning, Laurie!
I am so glad that calculation was able to help you out. I know how frustrating it can be when you are trying to figure out how much your mold would hold. Thank you so much for your business! Be sure to let us know how your soap turns out in your brand new mold. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
New to soap making and loving it! Have 4 boxes lined and ready for tomorrow. However, I would like to know how to figure how much soap mixture is needed to fill them. They are 3.5 x 3.5 x 3.5. I know there has to be a way of figuring it out. I can always use the “hit-and-miss” way of doing it but thought I could get some input. Also it would be great should I ever change to another size loaf mold.
Thx.
Hi Lucy!
Welcome to the soapmaking world! We are so glad you are joining us and can’t wait to hear more about your soapmaking adventures. The best way to figure out how much your mold would hold is to the following formulation:
L (Length) x W (Width) x H (Height) = Cubic Inches
Once you’ve gotten the cubic inches of your mold you would then multiply this amount by .40 to find the amount of oils that your mold will hold by ounces. For example, in your molds it would be:
3.5 x 3.5 x 3.5 = 42.875 cubic inches
42.875 x .40 = 17.15 ounces
It can be a little complicated, but once you’ve got the calculations down, it makes measuring for any size mold super easy! Let me know if you have any other questions and I’d be happy to help out.
-Becky with Bramble Berry
P.S. If you get any pictures of your soap share them with us on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/BrambleBerry
You can also calculate the volume of round/tubular or odd-shaped molds by following David Fisher’s instructions at About.com here:
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/suppliers/tp/Calculating-The-Size-Amount-Of-Soap-To-Fill-A-Soap-Mold.htm
Hi Patricia!
David Fisher does have some excellent instructions on how to calculate the size of an odd-shaped soap mold. Thanks for sharing! =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
That bowl looks suspiciously like the 5-qt. bowl for my artisan series kitchen-aid mixer.
Hi Gloria,
Good eye! These 5-quart bowls are from KitchenAid, and are available for sale a la carte at Bramble Berry =)
https://www.brambleberry.com/5-Quart-Glass-Mixing-Bowl-with-Lid-P5606.aspx
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Where do you get that huge bowl? I need one! That molds looks easy too. Might have to get one of those also
Hi Monica!
You can actually find these larger 5-Quart Mixing Bowls on Bramble Berry’s website! =)
https://www.brambleberry.com/5-Quart-Glass-Mixing-Bowl-with-Lid-P5606.aspx
I hope this helps! =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Love Ann Marie
Hi Sonya!
All of us in the office love how excited Anne-Marie gets about soaping and have definitely learned so much about it through her enthusiasm and knowledge. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry