How to make a simple magnetic soap holder

Hi folks,
 Welcome back to the blog.  Today I am back in my 'solutions mode', trying to solve some of my life's little annoyances  whenever I can.   Today's problem that I want to tackle is messy, melty, soap at the outdoor sink.

 I made this outdoor sink last year with an old sink we had hanging around after our kitchen remodel and some leftover oak wood pieces given to me by a friend when he built his little chapel on the hill.   Thank you Tom!   With all the vegetables and gourds we grow it has been nice being able to clean them, and our dirty hands outside.  But the soap in the soap dish melts and gets yucky when it rains.  😞
So today the solution is to make a "magnetic soap holder" that will be mounted under the drainboard next to the sink.  It's an easy fix for a messy problem.   Proxxon tools made this a really fun project.

Supplies

1" pine or plywood piece 3" x 4 "

1/4" plywood piece cut to 3" x 4"

 1/8" or 1/4" plexiglas piece 3" x 4 "  

4 tiny screws

4   1 1/2" wood screws

small but strong rare earth magnet

Plaid paints.

Equipment

Proxxon professional rotary tool 

bull nose carbide burr for rotary tool by Proxxon

small drill bit

Proxxon OZI/E delta sander 

 cutting blade for Proxxon OZI/E delta sander

Proxxon mini drill press (optional)

Kapro measure mate 313  (optional but very handy)

First thing to do was to cut all the pieces to size.   We are going to make a sandwich of the wood, magnet and plywood and plexiglas.   I used the Proxxon mini bandsaw to cut my pieces to size.   The Proxxon mini bandsaw cuts the plexiglas just as easily as it cuts the wood.

Using the kapro measure mate 313 it is easy to find the center of my piece of board.   I will center my magnet here.  

Using the cutting tool on the Proxxon OZI/E sander I cut out the rectangle (same size as my magnet on the thin piece of wood)   This is a nice hand tool.  The speed is adjustable which is really nice.   I got the lines started at a slower speed then cranked up the speed and cut right through the 1/4 piece of wood.     

My magnet was a little taller than 1/4" so I used Proxxon's bull nose burr on the Proxxon professional rotary tool to make a little extra room for my magnet.    I want the Plexiglas to sit flat on top of the 1/4" piece .

I used the Proxxon mini drill press to make some holes in the plexiglass.  I don't want it to crack when I screw my sandwich together.

Then we make a sandwich.
I used very small screws to attach the plexiglass to the wood and I glued the two wood pieces together using a good wood glue.

I attached it to the underside of my sink drainboard with screws from the top.   

Oops..... almost forgot something.   I used a bottle cap on the soap.  Have to have some metal for the magnet to work.   First step here is to punch a small hole in the bottle cap.  I used a nail and hammer.   I then painted the cap with some plaid metallic blue sparkle so it wont rust.  Then I just pushed it into the soap.   Don't worry it will stay there.  It holds better and better as you use it.

So there you have it.  No more messy melty soap.   When your soap gets small don't worry, just pop a top from a.....   let's say a soda bottle, get a new bar of soap push them together and you are all set.

Thank you all for visiting.   Thanks also to Proxxon, Plaid, and Kapro,   Check out these sites for awesome products.    

 Till next time, have fun, play safe   Carol