In a large iron vessel boil three to four gallons of water. At arms length, with hand wrapped in a towel and another one over nose and mouth, sift in one can of Red Seal Lye.

Go away for a few minutes until the fumes die down.

Then add six to seven pounds of grease - drippings, fat meat, tallow, suet, spoiled lard. It matters not how rancid. Stir frequently with a long wooden paddle.

The longer you cook it, the harder the soap, when it bubbles up like lava, it will make soft soap. This is dished out with a spoon and is excellent for scouring - especially if used with sand. When it flakes on the cooled paddle, it will make hard soap.

If it seems to thicken while you can still see grease, add a little boiling water - a point to a quart as needed. If that doesn't do it, add a little lye. If it is either too strong or too weak of lye, it will not make soap. If it is much too strong, you can see it eating the paddle.

Cool the soap in the boiler. Dish soft soap out into glass or crockery. Cut out hard soap into likely cakes and store in a crock. Hard soap will still clean for you no matter how old it gets - like a hundred years.