My Wood fired Redux

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

I'd like to cast a few pieces like you are doing on your build for my build. If you don't mind, what kind of mold are you using? I was thinking of using melamine or formica faced ply for a mold. I have a bit of formica laying around. I also have some corian I can use too. I've seen melamine used for concrete counter tops. Are you vibrating the forms after the pour? Do you know of an online guide for making the cast pieces you can refer me too? Thanks.

Kurt

Hey Kurt,

I am using melamine on my table top, and made the form from pvc trim board. I have used melamine for the forms in the past, but I'm finding that the trim holds up to multiple castings. Also, I only use hot glue to put them together...no screws anywhere on the form. The other material you have should be fine too. Clean the form well then apply release agent...I use wd-40 or armor-all, but any kind of lightweight oil is works.

I did vibrate the grey pieces you see in this thread, because they are cast with a flowable mixture. I use the standard 3:2:1 - 1/2 (h2o) but tweek it a bit. I also add an acrylic or polymer admix to the concrete as well. Bagged concrete mixes work well too. The others are a combination of hand pressed and a technique called Scagliola.

I can shoot you some links in a PM...let me dig some up, not sure about the rules on that here. In the meantime, check the forums for some info. There are a few folks in here that have done some superb concrete work...to name a few - Gulf, Utah Beehiver, neil2...many more.

[Kurtloup]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

Unmoulded the latest cast pieces tonight. These are cast using a polymer fortified concrete with SS wire reinforcement. I added charcoal coloring to the mix so it wouldn't dry light grey. The plan is to slurry the holes with earthtone/white slurry. I have 4 more to cast for the first layer...hopefully this week. The second layer will get the same colors, but I'll be doing a technique that replicates marble.


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I'd like to cast a few pieces like you are doing on your build for my build. If you don't mind, what kind of mold are you using? I was thinking of using melamine or formica faced ply for a mold. I have a bit of formica laying around. I also have some corian I can use too. I've seen melamine used for concrete counter tops. Are you vibrating the forms after the pour? Do you know of an online guide for making the cast pieces you can refer me too? Thanks.

Kurt

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

This bit of advice saved me from nearly pulling my hair out as I got closer to closing that dome. I have never in my life thrown more things or allowed such expletives to escape as when the day every single brick in the row fell straight down to the oven floor...time after time. More mortar and a longer soak time saved my build. (thanks to the guys here)

And a nice build it is too, Xene.

Alas, I am going to remain a stubborn stonemason...and I will continue laying brick the way I lay brick...like a stonemason. To me this is more of a personal preference anyway, the end result would be the same..I doubt I would be any faster applying more mortar. But that's me...not saying it's wrong.

[Xene]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

It sounds stupid telling you this, but you should butter them more so you don't have to go back and tuck them.

This bit of advice saved me from nearly pulling my hair out as I got closer to closing that dome. I have never in my life thrown more things or allowed such expletives to escape as when the day every single brick in the row fell straight down to the oven floor...time after time. More mortar and a longer soak time saved my build. (thanks to the guys here)

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

How dare you......


Seriously, I hear you, but I don't soak the bricks, just dampen them... so they grab right away. At this point in the game, I can tuck pretty fast, it's not a problem. Another thing is, is I hardly ever lay brick, so I suck at gauging how much to put down...so I fall back on what I know what works for me.

I can't wait to get to the stonework part.

EDIT 9/5/2013 : I realized that when you where saying the brick should be buttered more, you were looking at pictures showing dry set courses....I had not mortared anything in yet. Out of the first four pics, only the last 2 had mortared courses. No wonder you said that.

[Tscarborough]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

It sounds stupid telling you this, but you should butter them more so you don't have to go back and tuck them.

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

I made the fire mortar ratio leaner...it's more like 4.5:1:1:1. It's nice to work with...it doesn't go off as fast as Heatstop 50 and it has a familiar feel, almost like a lime mortar. I sifted the sand I have because I use it for concrete, and it had larger grains than I wanted..texture wise, it's very much like a bagged refractory mix. It's getting treated the same as a traditional mortar mix though.... slow cure, damp cloth and plastic.

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

Dome underway, got to put in my first full day in the last few months. I got the soldiers up and mortared in yesterday, today I cut and mortared the springer course and the oven opening. I'm not to worried about how the joints look since you only see about 3/4" when the vent goes in...

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

Well, you will have about $150 left in your pocket then!

More like $100 after buying the clay and lime.

[deejayoh]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

This is the first time that I am going to use fireclay mortar...usually I use Heatstop 50.

Well, you will have about $150 left in your pocket then!

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

Doh!! Rain foiled my plans to begin on the dome yesterday, and it's raining hard now too. I did manage to get the soldiers up, my opening arch form built and laid-out my oven opening.

I finally found fireclay and lime...in Charleston, about an hour away. Picked up my flues while I was there too. This is the first time that I am going to use fireclay mortar...usually I use Heatstop 50.

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

After looking at the grey cast pieces, I don't think they will go with the granite as well as I had hoped. It's back to the earthtone, similar to the first ones I made. I will be using a technique called Scagliola, were you fold a different colored material together...it replicates marble. I had tried doing this before, without knowing the term....this is it! No more trial pieces.

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

I had a little time today, so I put the floor in. I also got the layout of the dome arch and oven opening done too. Tomorrow I'm hoping to be able to get the base course in and the form for the opening built.

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

Unmoulded the latest cast pieces tonight. These are cast using a polymer fortified concrete with SS wire reinforcement. I added charcoal coloring to the mix so it wouldn't dry light grey. The plan is to slurry the holes with earthtone/white slurry. I have 4 more to cast for the first layer...hopefully this week. The second layer will get the same colors, but I'll be doing a technique that replicates marble.

[stonecutter]

Re: My Wood fired Redux

This one was at my home in CT. Completed in May 2009....oven #4