Sharing my progress...

[paulages]

your floor looks great, marcel. the herringbone pattern diagonally oriented should create no seam issues with tools, etc. good philosophy, by the way. it seems many people on here share an obsessive yet relaxed attitude maybe it takes to up and build a giant oven in your backyard.

i personally reccomend more vanes, as they become your form at the top to bear the weight of the bricks that will not free-stand. that comes a little sooner, i believe, than the point where your vanes close in enough to get them all.

I've read some posts that allude to the cooking in front of an outdoor oven to be almost a Zen like experience.

i'm not sure if anything can possibly be performed in a zen-like manner in the span of 90 seconds...but i know what you mean.

[aikitarik]

Macel,

Very nice pics! You're actually ahead of me, and I didn't get anything done this weekend for a couple of reasons:

1) I burned out my diamond blade on my grinder and don't yet have access to a tile/brick saw (although I'm considering renting one).

2) I have a TON of other things going on in my life right now.

I was intending on building the vanes out of techno-foam insulation which I already have, but instead I'll probably be taking a different approach to my interior form. Think wedding cake.

You guys are all great inspiration, and like you, I have a deadline that includes rain. Here in Boulder Creek, CA, we got 74 inches of rain last year, about the same as the Northwest (in a non-drought normal season). Our rainy season looms.. PLUS we want the oven reasonably well cured for Thanksgiving!

Well, pics and progress will follow over the next few weeks!

Regards,

Tarik

[jengineer]

Burning blades

When I was tearing out my bathroom a few years ago my plumber friend had me get a small fountain pump dumped in a 5 gallon bucket of water to use with a harbor freight (read disposable) 4 inch diamond cutting/grinder. We hooked it up to a GFI circuit since the saw was not designed for water use. Sure didn't win any safety awards but it made cutting the old tub/tile real easy.

For laying the tile I use my dads MK diamond saw. He is real anal about his tools, I am only half a$$ed. The box it came in looked brand new, yet I knew he has used the tool for 3 bathrooms, one entry way and one kitchen 5 years ago. His word of wisedom to me was set pump to wide open.

If you rent a concrete saw, not sure about tile, most rental places will put a digital micrometer on the blade before you rent it and again when you return it. Not only do they charge you for the use of the machine they also charge on the thousandths that you have used on the blade.

Word of wisedom on tile cutting - lots of water, go slow, wear eye & ear protection, watch where you put your fingers!

[aikitarik]

Well, to be honest, I used the diamond blade on lots of other masonry cuttings tasks (concrete blocks and concrete) before starting to cut the bricks with it, and it was an el-cheapo special ($13.99). So it lasted MUCH longer than I actually expected.

My grinder is no throw away, it's a Milwaukee, so I don't want to get it too wet since it's not designed for it.. but... I intend to use a little water to slow the wearing out of the new blades I've picked up, and I may yet rent the brick saw I checked out at our local rental place for some of the more complex cuts I'm pondering. They don't charge for blade wear (for bricks), but the price for renting the blade is entirely separate than renting the saw.

Tarik

[aikitarik]

When I was tearing out my bathroom a few years ago my plumber friend had me get a small fountain pump dumped in a 5 gallon bucket of water to use with a harbor freight (read disposable) 4 inch diamond cutting/grinder. We hooked it up to a GFI circuit since the saw was not designed for water use. Sure didn't win any safety awards but it made cutting the old tub/tile real easy.

You know, I have an old fountain pump in the basement. I should dig that up and see if it still works. Save my wife the effort of standing over me with the hose while I'm cutting (and save me from getting soaked due to my smart ass remarks that I cannot seem to repress).

Tarik

[Marcel]

Marcel's Pompeii Oven photos Part 2 #47-50 PhotoBucket

#37

(M) I will try to post only the thumbnails here but I think you will still be able click on them for enlargement. If not, go to:

http://photobucket.com/albums/a318/marceld/?sc=3 Opps! That didn't work; trying to insert the PhotoBucket URL. I guess I need to click on "Attachments", below.

Picture # 47 shows the back of the stand with a sheet metal stud and a 1/2" gap for the cement board when I enclose the igloo.

Picture # 48 shows Robert's "pup tent" arrangement for the angle iron to support the rest of the dome above the door opening. I'm not sure how this will work as I sem to have a difference in height at this point.

Picture # 49 shows the "Angleizer" which is a flexible template to help cut the bricks to specified shapes.

Picture # 50 shows a Tri-Square helping to emphasize an intentional splaying: / \ of the bricks for the entrance throat. Instead of leaving a masonry ledge near the fire, I decided to splay the sides to accomodate a wooden door I hope to later build.

Now let's see if the pictures come in, since this is the official "Brick Oven Photos" forum:

(M) Well, I got the following message:

"#47 Metal stud channel.jpg:
File Too Large. Limit for this filetype is 97.7 KB. Your file is 201.5 KB."

so the heck with it. If you are really interested in seeing the images, click on:

http://photobucket.com/albums/a318/marceld/?sc=1

Ciao,

Marcel

======================================

[Marcel]

Let's try those images again # 47, 48, 49, and 50

#38




(M) The images are such small files that I wonder if anything is visibile here. I'm still experimenting with the Photo options.

[Bob C]

Marcel,
It looks like you are on your way to great pizza. I like the "angleizer"... it should make for a nice tight archway. Good work.

Bob C.

[aikitarik]

Latest and greatest of our work...

My wife and I feel like we just delivered a baby..

Some pics of where we were in the middle of this weekend. I have not yet downloaded all the pics from the camera showing the finished dome and some of the archway in progress images.

Some observations:

1) I tried to use the angles I got from Marcel's calculations. They kind of worked, but I failed to request (or do the math myself) for the second angle cut around the perimeter of the dome (where the width of the brick is 4.5 inches instead of 2.5 inches) and eyeball cut it WAY too much. Hence, we have lots of gaps on the inside of the dome, but the structure is strong enough that it held my weight when I fell on top. In terms of looks, it's isn't the polished interior I wanted, but I'm perfectly happy with it for now.

2) The forms are both more and less important than I imagined. We got such good adhesion by soaking our bricks that we didn't need them for anything other than guides. Lesson learned.. more forms, and follow them (I kept shaving the form down to conform to the emerging arch of the dome) or no forms except where you really really need them (and I never appeared to at any stage, even when working my keystone).

3) Next time (I'm still willing to build another), I'll build the arched doorway FIRST, and tie the dome into IT, instead of the other way around. What I did worked, but the cosmetics aren't as great as I'd hoped.

4) Creating something this complicated is exhilirating. My wife had never done it and she was very much involved. I may have laid every brick, but she cut most of them after I set up the saw and she helped mortar, clean, and was constantly there working with me. She's stunned by what we did.

I'll have more pics of archway details, finished dome, interior, and such tonight.

Thanks all of you for your information, feedback, suggestions, advice, general support, and more!

[Bob C]

Tarik,

I read your comment in another post that you feel like a hack but a happy hack. You oven looks great. Give yourself credit on what you are accomplishing and be proud. My brother is a stone mason and could not believe that I built my oven...a "GOOD JOB" from him was a great compliment.


Bob C.

[aikitarik]

Tarik,

I read your comment in another post that you feel like a hack but a happy hack. You oven looks great. Give yourself credit on what you are accomplishing and be proud. My brother is a stone mason and could not believe that I built my oven...a "GOOD JOB" from him was a great compliment.

Bob C.

Awesome... my wife told me that, if anyone critiques our gaps, they'd better be a professional stone mason!

We're actually still glowing over what we've made.. and we haven't even fired it up yet. How long do we have to cure it?

Oh wait.. we still need to coat the outside with more mortar and finish the vent/doorway arches.. but the dome and initial archway are complete and I can mortar the vent and doorway in about an hour.

[Bob C]

Tarik,

check out the "curing your oven" thread. Once again, a great deal of information. One note however, when firing the oven start slow and be patient...very patient.

Bob C

[aikitarik]

Tarik,

check out the "curing your oven" thread. Once again, a great deal of information. One note however, when firing the oven start slow and be patient...very patient.

Bob C

We plan to leave an electric heater in the oven on low for at least a week. I wonder if we should wait longer. Our neighbor, a former contractor, was expecting us to wait at least 3 weeks of cure time before our first fire.

[james]

I don't think you need to overdo the curing process. Unlike a bread oven that is encased on 5" of concrete, you don't have that much wet concrete or mortar in your oven. Your bricks are kiln tempered. You need to be careful to protect you investment, but not overboard.

James

[aikitarik]

Thanks, James. We need to finish mortaring (do we really need to mortar the outside?) and setting the chimney so we can get our curing done. We're eager to cook!

Oven pics!

I got a few of the inside showing the gaps, but the bricks are so tight above that falling on the oven didn't cause any problems.