Greeting from Tinian

[siricktiq]

First off thank you Forno Bravo for putting this site together.

I am from the island of Tinian, located about 100 miles north of Guam. I am interested in making my own oven for sometime now. And with the price of fuel on the rise ($5.00 a gallon here) and electricity. I have decided to start constructing my first oven this year. So what I am really interested in is reading all the info that is on this site.

Once again thank you to Forno Bravo and all who have contributed to this site.

[Frances]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

Gosh, that's certainly a new location!

If firewood is plentiful where you are, that's a really good reason for building an oven - and they're lovely to cook in.

When you build, could you please post lots of pictures? ... Because that's the closest a lot of us are ever going to get to your part of the world!

Good luck with your build!

[dmun]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

My Father spent the Second World War on the island of Tinian.

Hopefully it's improved since the 1940's. He didn't have much of anything good to say about the experience.

Welcome to Forno Bravo. Lots to learn. Don't hesitate to ask questions.

[Wiley]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

Welcome Siricktiq,
My Father spent time there as well, he was part of a ground crew for B-29s. He collected the operculum from a local shell and made earrings for my Mom. They were different than most operculums in that they had a center of green and were surrounded by red/orange. About 5/8 " diameter and looked pretty cool compared to the operculums of most shells. I could never find a comparable in my 3+ years in the SP. Are you familiar with this shell? It may have been local to the Marianas. So are the Marianas still "Trust Territory of The Pacific Islands"?

What sort of material are you considering building your oven out of? Most of us have a somewhat easier access to building supplies. Do you get supplies via ship or mostly by air?

Wiley

[siricktiq]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

We are a US Commonwealth. We have a shell similar to the one that you mentioned but without the green color. I found one that was red/orange that measured 3"x 3".

For the oven I would like to make one big enough to roast a small pig. Has anyone tried this, but the main reason will be to get off the utility grid and pizza. We have an endless amount of firewood and it is free. I will be using firebrick that I got when an old sugarcane refinery was demolished. The only set backs that I for see right now is getting the additives for the cement to withstand high heats. Can't find it here at out local hardware store. Anyone has any ideas on wear to get the additives.

I will post pictures once I get started. Right now I am in the reading and planning stage.

Thanks
Si-Rick

[dmun]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

We're hearing from various parts of the world about the difficulty of getting fireclay. You may need to bite the bullet and import some. What are you using for insulation?

[gjbingham]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

I'd agree with dmun - import. You'd guess fireclay or Heatstop 50 would be available somewhere in Guam.

[dmun]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

There's a problem in hot climates - they don't have a culture of masonry fireplaces, which drives these materials to brickyards. Here in the northeast US, any self-respecting house has a real fireplace. Just look in the real estate ads - WBF is one of the most common abbreviations. I don't think that's true in the South Pacific.

[jengineer]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

Wow My dad in the 80s spent a few months in Guam Tinian & Saipan. Bautiful areas. Somehow some snakes got introduced in the area and some of the local birds were having problems with them.

Anyone know the insulating properties of crushed coral?

[Wiley]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

OK, This is the long way round but not knowing exactly how hard or expensive it is to get materials to Tinian Island and not knowing how much of a DIY person our new member Si-Rick is.... He could try this as a way to get cheap refractory cement. Burn coral, coral is almost pure calcium carbonate. This will produce a product that when crushed becomes lime. Mix this product with water and it becomes slaked lime. Mix this with finely crushed firebricks should produce a useable refractory grout for the construction of the WFO. Not super hightemp but good to over 1000 F and mixed with crushed firebrick I suspect a suitable alternative to importing Heatstop.

Here's a link to the Wiki site where one can follow what I've suggested:
Calcium oxide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

During the time I spent in the islands I gained a strong admiration for the ability of the locals to improvise.

Wiley

[Orrin Dean]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

Maybe I'm off here but this link might help you.

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f3/hello-texas-3397.html

It's John Fahle's build.
If it doesn't it's still a good read!

[siricktiq]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

Thanks for the replies and links. As for insulation, I was on Guam a couple of weeks ago and found a oven that was still being used. I asked the gentlemen that was working there how old was the oven and he said he was not sure. But the person that built the oven had passed on and that the oven was at least 15 to 20 years old. They didn't have much of insulation the only thing that was used was cement to cover the dome of the oven. The only thing that I noticed that was different about the oven was at the backside of the oven was a hole about as big as a soda cans diameter. I asked what was this for and the guy said that it was to prevent preassure build up within the oven. Have any of you heard about this?

I will be heading back to Guam and I'll try to get some pictures to share with all.

Thank You
Si-Rick

[CajunKnight]

Re: Greeting from Tinian

Welcome to the site. There is a lot of info to read and things you never thought about. Be sure to ask as many questions as you like and enjoy the site. Keep us updated with your progress and pictures are always welcome.