# homemade lye anyone tried this



## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

I wish you well in making your own lye. I can get all the lye I need at the farm supply store in the drain-cleaning section, $3.79 for a two-pound plastic bottle. For the small amounts of lye used, and the cheap cost, I wouldn't mess around with trying to make my own lye.

The books I've read about homemade lye warn against it because different oils/greases have different "sap values," (the amount of lye it takes per pound of oil/grease to convert the grease into soap). 

With homemade lye (most easily done by using wood ash) you don't have the consistent concentration to sufficiently convert your greases to soap, and you run the risk of either too much lye (skin burns) or not enough lye (soft, runny soap or unconverted grease).

Despite all the rumors of lye shortages due to meth dealers, there's plenty of lye around. If you can't find it, I'd be glad to pick up a bottle and mail it to you. Since I buy my oils/greases, I can't afford to mess up a batch of soap with insufficient lye.

But we're all different, so I continue to wish you well!

Grant 
Jackson, MO http://www.25hives.homestead.com


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## berkshire bee (Jan 28, 2007)

*foxfire book*

Riverrat, I've never done it, but the first Foxfire book has a chapter on soapmaking and they also talk about dripping lye. They all seemed to mention using hickory ashes. One method used a hollowed log as a trough. Another picture showed a trough built of planks and lined with paper or hay or whatever worked to kind of filter the ashes. There was a little spigot at the end near the bottom. They filled the trough up and poured a gallon or 2 of water till it started to drip into a container.
It would be funto try it just to see how it was done and maybe still is in some places. I wouldn't want to sell the soap to someone else but you could try it yourself. If you decide to, let us know how it comes out. berkshire


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>has anyone attempted to make there own lye. I am thinking of giving it a shot. I would like to here any experiences anyone has had doing this.

I have. My grandmother did it to get her lye for her soap and I've done it to get lye for dehairing hides. The concept is simple enough. You just need a lot of wood ashes. You add water and then filter it well enough to get the grit out of it so it isn't black anymore.

But I only had to do it once to decide it's much easier to buy it.


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