# sizing soap mold



## Lauralynn (Mar 19, 2009)

THis is my first time making soap and here is the recipe I want to use

4.69 oz lye
10.95 oz water
21 oz olive oil
10 oz coconut oil
2tb castor oil for super fatting
eo- 1-2 tb

Now, how do I get the right size mold for this? I don't understand how to use the mold sizer on Summerbee. 

Thanks for any help.
Laura


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Welcome, Laura!

*I* would size the recipe to fit the mold that you want to fill. I just find that easier. LOL Where did you get this formula from? Have you run it through a lye calculator to check the amount of lye?


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Someone else posted this to help determine how much soap fits in a mold....

INSIDE dimensions - 
take LENGTH times WIDTH times DEPTH (how deep you want to pour) times .4

I used that to see what it said for one of my molds. It came out as 42 ounces and I use 45 so it's close. This is the amount of oils only, not counting your liquid and lye.


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## Sheryl (Oct 27, 2007)

I was gonna ask the same question. I would check with the lye calc. doesn't sound like enough lye for the amount of liquids and oils. jmo


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

this is lye heavy and not a good % would need to go to need to be like 4.52 according to thesage.com lye calculator. and you have a total of 32 oz or 2 lb so it will fit in a small draw divider you can get at WW. they are blk plastic.


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## kidsngarden (Oct 28, 2007)

Just an FYI, the whole "add oil for superfatting" thing really is a myth - meaning that it won't necessarily be superfatted with castor. The lye eats what it wants. If you want to superfat, input all the oils into a soap calc and put the superfat to what you like. I usually do 5% with GM. 

To use the resizer on summerbee just input the recipe, calculate it, then click "resize" or whatever it says and enter your mold dimensions.


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## Lauralynn (Mar 19, 2009)

Now I am more confused. Sheryl says not enough lye and Sondra says it's lye heavy. I got it from the lady I took my soapmaking class from. But how do I size the mold? Say I want to use a cardboard box. What size box for a 2lb recipe? HOw do I figure that out?


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

those drawer dividers are abt 2 in wide 2 in high and 10 in long I think


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Sheryl was just taking a guess. Sondra ran it through a lye calculator. Which just shows how important it is to do that, even in recipes someone else has given you.

Not counting your castor, your recipe uses 31 oz of oils with approximately 67.7% OO and 32.3% in CO. For a 5% superfat you would use 4.4 oz of lye according to soapcalc. Using the lye amount you gave in your formula you would be soaping with a 0% superfat plus whatever the castor gives you. A higher superfat will give you a much better bar.


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## mill-valley (Feb 22, 2008)

Like Kathy said, it's much easier to measure a box and size the recipe to the box. But you need something at least 8" x 6" and 3" deep give or take. You can go bigger but the soap won't be as deep. A box 8" x 10" will be 1" deep with 31 oz of soap in it. Depends a little what size bars and how you want to cut them. I wouldn't go any larger than 8x10.

Hope this helps you.


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## Lauralynn (Mar 19, 2009)

Thank you, thank you mill-valley and Kalne. That is just what I am looking for. :yeahthat Kalne, please explain to me the 67 % OO and the 32.2% CO. Is a 5% supperfat what I want? Is that what you recommend?


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I do most of my soaps at 5% superfat. I think it's fairly standard and I know it's the default on soapcalc. The milk most of us use here adds a bit more as would the castor in your formula. 

I always break recipes down to percentages. That's the first step to resizing it. So say you find a box you want to use for your mold. You can then use the formula I posted earlier. It may not be exact but is a good starting point. I would round the percentages to 68 and 32. If your box comes out to hold 36 oz of oils (according to the formula) you then multiply that 36 by .68 to see how much olive oil you need and then multiply 36 by .32 to determine the amount of coconut oil. You've now resized your recipe while maintaining the proper proportions. Does that make sense? 

If it's too confusing for you to do it that way you can also plug your numbers into the lye calculator on soapcalc.com and it will tell you what your percentages are and I believe you can resize it on there as well.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Shoot just fill up your mold with water, weigh the water, then you know with liquid how much butters and oils you mold holds.

I don't care if you took classes from the soap goddess herself, always put any recipe through a lye calculator, I use the sage.com it can be as simple as a typo, or as devious as her wanting you to fail. Vicki


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