Bill McDonald shows some of the tricks of his trade. The Lampasas man's homemade soap business is taking off at an online auction site. When Bill McDonald was a boy, he remembers watching his grandmother do all the things an Arkansas farmer’s wife had to do -- from killing chickens to making soap.

Though McDonald has no need to kill his own chickens, he does make his own soap. And he sells it to the public on eBay, hoping to keep a dying art part of the American landscape.

Much like gardening, people nowadays just don’t do a lot of handiwork like making soap, he said.

And McDonald doesn’t do it strictly for the money. After buying ingredients, equipment and supplies, and paying for postage (he offers customers free shipping), there isn’t a lot left over to put into his pocket.

Why does the Lampasas resident go to such lengths? “Because it’s just one of the ways of life that aren’t embraced any more. And I think it’s important.”

The end product is offered in a variety of scents and is finished off with an old-fashioned wrapper, reminiscent of early Sears catalogs. Having displayed artistic talents all his life, McDonald dabbles in anything that occupies his hands -- from photography to painting to woodworking. He fashions small cedar storage and jewelry boxes, and makes barnwood and cedar picture frames.

In addition, he is building a small shop-like structure on his property completely from 100- year-old pieces of wood -- the torn-down remnants of an old building behind Lampasas Flower Shop on Key Avenue.

The soap-making business is another side venture of the busy Lampasan. He said he is encouraged to continue making his product by the numerous repeat customers who relate that they are pleased with the quality of the soap, the sales price and the timeliness of shipping.

And their confidence is reiterated through the 100 percent positive customer feedback they leave -- a mainstay of eBay sellers and buyers. The higher the feedback, the better the seller’s relationship with his customers.

McDonald ships bars of soap to about 400 customers all over the U.S., averaging about 100 bars per month.

Early on, he tried his hand at candle-making. But the cost to produce the candles was much more than what he could get out of it.

Two years ago, McDonald decided to attempt making soap, and he has been at it ever since. It is a time-consuming process that usually takes five hours from mixing to set-up. Most of the time is spent in cooling the mixture before it can be cut into bars.

Experience has taught him that soap “sets” better in cooler weather than in warmer temperatures. And McDonald has made his task somewhat easier through experience and by using an electric mixer.

“Stirring by hand would take about two hours,” he said. “When I was at a flea market, a woman who sells soap told me to use a hand mixer. But that wasn’t much faster.”

McDonald moved on to a bowltype mixer, and that allowed him to do other chores while the ingredients mixed themselves.

Words like “saponification” (when oil and lye mix) and “trace” (when soap reaches a certain consistency and is ready to pour) have become a part of his everyday vocabulary.

McDonald’s cold-process soap-making begins with placing lard in a pan on a single-burner stove in his backyard. He doesn’t cook the mixture in the house because the lye fumes are dangerous when mixed with water.

In a bucket, McDonald places five pounds of lard, which he heats to 300 degrees. In a separate container, he then places about 11 ounces of lye (his measurements are very specific) and 28 ounces of distilled water. After the lard cools to about 100 degrees, McDonald pours it into a mixing bowl and then adds the lye-water mixture.Then saponification starts, McDonald said. The mixture begins to thicken like pudding, and it takes from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the temperature.

When it is set, McDonald pours the mixture into a square mold, cuts it into measured blocks and then stores it in a cool, damp place for about a month so it can age completely. That allows the “stinging” aspect of the lye to evaporate, he said.

McDonald makes about 30 bars per batch, each weighing about three to four ounces.

Since the process takes about a month, it’s not like making a picture frame, and he can’t just crank out what is ordered.

Therefore, he endeavors to keep enough product on hand to satisfy his customers’ orders.

Unscented soap bars are the most popular. Hunters especially appreciate them, he said.

In addition, McDonald offers soaps scented with lavender oil, garden rose, orange peel (good for rough, dry skin), honeysuckle and lavender bloom (made with pieces of lavender buds).

Each has the right amount of coconut oil to lather richly. A bar can last about a month, he said. “They are good for bathing and handwashing,” he noted.

Finding McDonald on eBay is easy, he said. “Just visit the auction Web site and look for the “store name” tab. Type in “7587bill,” or simply type “lye soap” in the search bar and hit Enter.

Soap is packaged in individual bars, in sets of three bars or in 10-bar packs. The more that is purchased, the cheaper the price.

“This is all-natural, hand-made bar soap, just like they made years ago,” McDonald said. Even the wrappers are made by hand and are reproductions of old Sears catalogs and historical family photographs. That helps keep the price and the cost down, he said. Plus, it adds an oldfashioned flair to the product.

“Soap making is something people used to do,” he said. “It’s a lost art, just like gardening. If a person had to survive out of his own garden, there’s not many who could do it anymore. I’m just trying to keep the art alive.

“Being raised around that farming environment in Arkansas, I watched my grandma make her own soap. She washed her clothes in it, and she bathed in it.”

McDonald feels he is doing his part to keep that legacy alive. And his customers believe -- and appreciate -- that, as well.