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Old 06-07-2008, 09:06 AM   #1 (permalink)
 
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Default Soap Cannon or soap mold

It is official I have created the worlds first soap cannon.
I was looking for a fast easy way to make my sample sized pucks of soap.
The old method consisted of ladeling each puck into small muffin tins.
I decided that a long section of 1 1/2 inch pvc would be ideal. So I cut a 4 foot section of schedule 40, cleaned up the edges, and squeezed a cap on one end.

This worked great, but I was having trouble pushing the finished soap out the other end, so I figured what the heck, I bought another cap, drilled a hole and fitted a valve stem into it.

Now I just needed air pressure. I started with an old bicycle pump, and started pumping away. 60 PSI, 80 PSI, 100 PSI, 140 PSI nothing.
It's air compressor time.

I hooked it up to my dad's industrial giant 5 foot tall monster air compressor, pulled the trigger...


and my soap was gone.


A 1 1/2 inch by 4 foot long 3 pound tubular mortar shell...
Up into the rafters, thank god there wasn't any dry rot in their attic...
upon impact with the rafters, it broke into three large pieces and about 500 smaller ones. My dad's garage has never smelt better.


The second batch came out a bit easier, and proved the concept a viable one, you just need to be patient, and allow the pressure to move the soap slowly.

For those of you wanting to make your own home made soap, PVC pipe is an excellent mold, and a bicycle pump will remove your finished product with little or no trouble. it's then a simple matter of cutting it, I used a cheese cutter for my smaller pucks, and I think it will work fine for up to a 3 inch round.

I looks very clean, and is a lot less trouble than muffin tins.

Just use caution where you're pointing it when you unmold it.
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Old 06-07-2008, 02:59 PM   #2 (permalink)
 
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LOL, that was a great story!

If you figure out how to aim and calibrate that thing, you could save a fortune on shipping to the central California area...
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Old 06-07-2008, 03:54 PM   #3 (permalink)
 
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best laugh I've had all day, just glad nobody got hurt try explaining that at A&E shot by a soap cannon
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Old 06-07-2008, 04:39 PM   #4 (permalink)
 
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Good story! I am about 90 miles from you--how about launching a bar over my way.
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Old 06-07-2008, 06:33 PM   #5 (permalink)
 
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I made one out of 3" pvc and it works pretty well if you grease it lightly with mineral oil, vaseline or some other unsaponifiable oil.
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Old 06-07-2008, 07:08 PM   #6 (permalink)
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cstewart View Post
I made one out of 3" pvc and it works pretty well if you grease it lightly with mineral oil, vaseline or some other unsaponifiable oil.
I think that's a big part of it, I use such a large amount of glycerine, I didn't think I'd need to lubricate it. Once it popped, it was like a spud gun.
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Old 06-07-2008, 08:46 PM   #7 (permalink)
 
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That is just awesome....Thats a lot of soap, do you make it in a huge pot? Not trying to get any of your secrets just curious...

EDIT: Reread post, not as much soap as i originally thought...
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Old 06-10-2008, 01:45 PM   #8 (permalink)
 
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That story just started my day on the right track. Wow that was funny.
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Old 06-17-2008, 07:27 PM   #9 (permalink)
 
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Awesome tale Mike
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Old 06-17-2008, 08:24 PM   #10 (permalink)
 
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FIRE!!!!! for effect.....
Thanks for sharing Mike, I love hearing others whoops moments, trust me I've had a few of my own where ya just shrug the shoulders and gotta say "Whoops"
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Old 06-17-2008, 09:42 PM   #11 (permalink)
 
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Nice! Now start working on an uber-lather cannon!
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Old 06-18-2008, 06:11 AM   #12 (permalink)
 
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I've got it figured out now... pump it up to about 150 or 160 psi, and wait a few seconds... You'll hear the soap as it starts to move.
Just lay it down on a long strip of waxed paper, and a couple more pumps will free the soap. No muss no fuss, fo flying debris.
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Old 06-18-2008, 06:49 AM   #13 (permalink)
 
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wheres the fun in that?
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Old 06-18-2008, 07:29 AM   #14 (permalink)
 
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it doesn't ruin the soap when it comes out slowly... The first blast/batch had so much dust and debris from it's flight that I had to throw it out.
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Old 06-19-2008, 12:39 AM   #15 (permalink)
 
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Aww thats too bad, thats a lot of good soap gone to waste.
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Old 06-19-2008, 10:13 AM   #16 (permalink)
 
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That just comes with the terrotory...
I made a batch of Lavender soap a couple of days ago, real lavender, picked from my garden...
It is very mild, clean and fresh smelling, lathers well, and irritates my skin.
I spent nearly 6 hours formulating, experimenting, and playing before I had my home made lavender water smelling just right, boiled down, and ready to add to my soap. It's probably the most expensive and best smelling flop I've done yet. In fact it is so time consuming that had it worked I still couldn't afford to make it for my site.
But I did have fun making it.
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Old 06-20-2008, 12:54 AM   #17 (permalink)
 
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IM sorry to hear! I love lavender, I have some KMF lavender but its not lavnderey enough.
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Old 06-20-2008, 10:23 AM   #18 (permalink)
 
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send me your address and I'll ship you a bar.
I'd love to have a second opinion.
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Old 06-20-2008, 12:37 PM   #19 (permalink)
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how about a 3rd opinion mike?
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Old 06-20-2008, 01:11 PM   #20 (permalink)
 
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send me your address... It's real honest to god lavender, but like I said, you won't ever be able to buy it, and it irritated my skin.

Production cost would require me to charge around $25 per 3 ounce puck, and I just can't justify asking that much for soap...
If you like it, I can use what I have as a base line, and see if I can make it using EO instead of the fresh lavender... but it will be one of those things I would probably only make once a year...
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