In cutting machines, through which "washer" household soap is being passed, the bar is pushed at right angles through another frame containing wires, which divides it into tablets; these may be received upon racks and are ready for drying and stamping. It is needless to say that the slabs and tablets are cut with a view to reducing the amount of waste to the lowest possible limit. Such a machine, made by E. Forshaw & Son, Ltd., is shown in Fig. 14.
Fig. 12.—Barring machine.
Fig. 13.—Bar-cutting machine.
Fig. 14.—Tablet-cutting machine.
Open- and Close-piling.—As remarked previously, tallow soaps should be cut whilst warm, and the bars "open-piled," or stacked across each other in such a way that air has free access to each bar for a day. The bar of soap will skin or case-harden, and next day may be "close-piled," or placed in the storage bins, where they should remain for two or three weeks, when they will be in perfect condition for packing into boxes ready for distribution.