Hansen Horno

[Frances]

Re: Hansen Horno

I somehow missed out on this build so far... its looking really good! That bridge is a great idea (maybe needs to be put in the photo gallery, as inspiration to future builders?)

And its still perfectly round after tying in the archway. This is one outstanding dome.

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Thanks all! I think I will try running the garden hose on the blade, lightly. I do have the built-in pump set to max. I tried soaking all my bricks before cutting today, and I still burned through another $35 blade after about 2.5 courses. It must be these bricks, although I believe others who used medium-duty bricks only used 1-2 blades, so what's wrong with me?!? I'm also trying to reduce my cuts, so that may help. Overall, the blades are (so far) a fairly minor investment when looking at the whole project.

A note about that bridge: I did cut a small "V" groove along the length of the underside so it locks into the arch somewhat. Attached is a pic of the back side of that area. I would have notched 2 regular bricks for that spot, but the notches would have been too deep.

[mfiore]

Re: Hansen Horno

Daren, you are burning through this dome! Looks outstanding. I like the "bridge". It seems to fill in the void that many domes have had when crossing the arch. To me, it's quite sound. Really just a continuation of the seventh course. Great build. I'm following (and copying) it step by step!

[egalecki]

Re: Hansen Horno

It's looking good!

As far as your blades go, are you using enough water when you cut? I found with my little baby wet circular saw that if I ran it too dry it was more difficult and burned up my blade faster.

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Eighth course. I used a "bridge" to get it over the arch. I hope that's a sound method!

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

The next course, tying into the arch.

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Thanks Mike. Yep, I'm still cutting an angle on the sides of each piece to eliminate the triangle-shaped gap. So I'm really only saving one cut by not tapering the full underside of each brick, but I'm not cutting away as much brick on the inside face, which should make the dome go a little faster. I'm aiming for a dome height of 21". Right now, it feels like I'll never get there!

I've gone through more than 3 Harbor Freight saw blades already. Not sure why. Last night I bought a Husky blade; I'll see if that lasts longer. I think these bricks are medium duty; maybe that has something to do with it.

[mfiore]

Re: Hansen Horno

Nice work. Are you cutting/beveling/angling/tapering (what ever the proper term is) the sides of the bricks also, or just the mini taper on the bottom? What is your planned final dome height?

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Done with the 5th course, and starting the arch transition. You can see that I didn't taper the 5th course as much as the others, so there's a bigger mortar gap on the outside, but there was less cutting. I think this is the approach I'll use on the next course(s) too.

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

It's a great idea! I actually did that in a few sections of my dome and it works fine. Go for it!

Glad to hear that, Ken, thanks!

[Ken524]

Re: Hansen Horno

I think I will go with a "mini-taper" for the next course(s), which I hope to complete on Sunday. So instead of cutting a taper across the entire bottom face of each dome brick, I'll cut it through only half the face.

It's a great idea! I actually did that in a few sections of my dome and it works fine. Go for it!

[dbhansen]

Re: Hansen Horno

Thanks guys. I really feel like I'm "flying by the seat of my pants," just trying to get through it without making a major mistake!

I think I will go with a "mini-taper" for the next course(s), which I hope to complete on Sunday. So instead of cutting a taper across the entire bottom face of each dome brick, I'll cut it through only half the face. That should make the dome go faster (less brick wasted), but leave a bigger gap on the outside to fill with mortar. The same as beaglestorm demonstrated in the attached image and described here.

If anyone thinks this is a bad idea, please let me know before Sunday!

[aureole]

Re: Hansen Horno

I wish I had the skill, time and patience to do a proper angle-cut oven, they look terrific!

Great work!

[Ken524]

Re: Hansen Horno

Awesome work. Looks great!

[mfiore]

Re: Hansen Horno

Looks very nice!! Clean, symmetric lines. I'm enjoying the build!