I remember these magnetic soap holders from my childhood, and since I don't use liquid soap anymore (avoiding plastic wherever I can ) I wanted to buy this great invention to get rid of that gross soap dish *shivers* I got second hand from grandmas old bathroom...

- but everything one could buy, was either ugly to look at or quite expensive.

So I made one myself - HA!

The Up-sides of this magnetic soap holder are:

dry, clean soap

your sink is easier to clean - no need to lift anything up for cleaning

looks way more elegant than that soap dish from grandma

I decided to go with brass, which looks good and is easy to work with (plus I had it already )

- but you could make for example a wooden one as well.

Let's get to work!

Step 1: Materials and Tools

Materials:

brass sheet 2mm

1 strong magnet

1 decorative beer cap

2 brass skrews (+ wall plugs if needed )

1 soap bar

Tools:

something to measure

metal saw

metal drill bit 3mm

a center punch

files

2 part epoxy adhesive

1000 grit sanding paper

hammer and a small nail

Not absolutely necessary for function, but helpful:

countersink bit (makes the skrew holes so much nicer )

a bench vise - you can do it without, but will be much easier with :)

a dremel with router bit for brass

Step 2: Measure and Design

lay the soap bar on you bathroom sink - on the spot you want to hang it over later.

measure the distance to the wall to the middle of the soap bar and add around 1 cm.

draw your raw design onto the brass sheet.

I decided to make an easy 90 degree angle with rounded corners.

for the magnets position, make sure your beer cap (that'll sit on your soap bar) will be fully covered.

my brass strip is going to be 4cm wide, you can go wider if you want.

draw the hole design inkludiing the skrew holes at once.

Step 3: Cutting the Strip

use a metal handsaw to cut along your drawn lines - the better you cut, the less you have to file away later

- I'm quite a lousy cutter but pretty handy with the file ;)

for the rounded corners i used a jewellers saw but you'll be fine with the normal saw as well - just more filing action later :)

Step 4: Shaping With the File

cheat with a belt sander if you want, I prefer files :)

file down to your drawn lines - that will be done pretty fast due brass is quite soft.

sand the egdes in one direction for a nice finish.

Step 5: Skrew Holes

use a center punch to mark the middle of the skrew holes - this gives the tip of your drill bit a place to ride in as you begin to drill.

carefully drill the holes - use safety goggles if you like your eyes :o)

use the countersink bit to make the skrew heads flush.

Step 6: Magnet Fitting

due I only had quite a thick magnet I decided to make a depression for it.

also I figuered that the glue might have a better grip in there, but thats only my theory ;)

I used the dremel with a router bit for it - unfortunatly I wasn't paying enough attention and the router bit broke out a little - but no one will ever see this but me, so I swallowed my anger about it and went on :)

Be carefull while working with the dremel - It's a small tool, but you can hurt yourself and your eyes, use goggels and common sense.

Step 7: Sanding

I wanted to go for a satin finish

i used a sheet of 1000 grit sandpaper, and slided my brass strip carefully on it - be sure to keep the same direction and pressure.

It's like meditation :)

Step 8: Bending

now it's time for the 90 degree angle.

mark the position of the angle once again - you sanded it away in the last step ;)

protect the strip with a towel from scratches while clamping it into the bench vise ( if you don't have a bench vise use the strong edge of a table - clamp it if you can)

clamp it a little lower (about 1mm ) than your position mark.

now use hand power to bend it down until you reach the 90 degrees - you have to bend it slightly over 90 - it will move back.

I'm not a muscle strong woman but it was easy to bend for me.

Step 9: The Bottle Cap

the beer cap will be the magnetic part on your soap bar.

to prevent air pockets while pressing it into the soap, you need a small hole in it.

use nail and hammer to make that hole in the middle of the cap.

get rid of the plasic sheet in the cap

make sure the cap is still flat on the surface - you may have to press the nail once more from the other side, or using the countersink bit

Step 10: Glueing

mix the 2 part epoxy adhesive with a toothpick

add a small amount on both sides around the hole in the bottle cap - don't fill the hole. Why that glue you might wonder? - to prevent rust on the cap -it's coated against rust already, but you damaged that coat by making the hole.

use a more generous amount to glue on the magnet - make sure to use the right side of the magnet it would be a shame if it didn't work :)

wait for the glue to cure - be patient!

Step 11: Prepare the Soap Bar

your glue cured and now its time to get that beer cap in place!

just press it into the middle of the soap bar

- afterwards I figured that it would be a good idea to straighten the caps edges - you can still do that ;)

Step 12: Skrew It On

attach the soap to the magnet and hold everything to the wall until you figuered out the right height and position for your soap holder.

mark the holes and skrew it in - you might need wall plugs as well.

I didnt I have wooden walls.

admire and use it for the first time :)

Step 13: Wash Your Hands

after all this metal work the time to wash your hands has finally come!

grab the soap

wash your hand throughly

hang the soap back

enjoy dry - not filthy- soap the next time you use the bathroom!

Yes, of course : due to gravity your soap will drip a little onto your sink - but that is easy cleaned and you don't have to lift anything up to take care of it.