Soil Block Maker recommendations?

What are folks' favourite soil block makers? Are there any creative design features or uses you can share? Is anyone making them at home that I could support, or designs to share?

I’ve got a couple from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. They’re well-constructed, sturdy, and easy to use. The 2” are very versatile for all but the largest seeds. Not crazy about the 3/4” ones. Seemed like a nice idea for saving space on a heat mat for germination, but they were so fiddly to construct and melted away with any sort of watering.

I haven't tried a soil block maker yet, I'm also in the discovery phase.
Here's a video I found helpful about using soil blocks:


And I found this website about different methods of making one:
https://insteading.com/blog/the-diy-soil-block-maker-7-plans/

I thought the bottom-most video on that page was more helpful, it's this one:

He uses stuff from around the house and waters them with a cloth diaper dipped in water. Interesting idea.

Like the first video points out, plastic breaks down and flakes all over. A wooden tray with soil blocks and possibly a cloth wicking watering system sounds much better. I'd really like to hear more from people who have used soil blocks.

I too am on the prowl for a good soil blocker.

Any recommendations?

My answer is almost identical to Shawn's. I bought one from Johnny's and stuck to the 2" variety. The smaller and larger sizes had too many issues for me.

I have a decent amount of experience with soil blocks and I can tell you from my personal experience and from reading various threads around here that the recipe you use will probably have more to do with your success or failure, than the maker itself. The pre-made ones are easy and work well, and you can make home made ones relatively easily, but if you don't have the right consistency of soil mix it will be frustrating.

Check out this thread. https://permies.com/t/240600/Love-hate-soil-blocking

I posted a couple good videos on soil block recipes and benefits. Christopher Weeks also posted some good ones, including a link to the Swift Blocker. I haven't used it or looked into it much, but it looks interesting.