That tool....

[earlybird2005]

Hi ,
Im about to start my oven and have read almost everything on this site about pizza ovens...... but i have one question i can't find an answer to and cant answer myself.
When you are using the radius tool, how do you lay the next brick without the brick you just laid , falling? Hold it up with sticks?
Especially as the dome roof gets higher and gravity takes effect.
From what i can divulge from the information on this site everyone seems to lay a brick a day?????? : )



Any answers much appreciated.

Craig

[hungng]

Re: That tool....

As my dome got to the last 2 or 3 rows, I attached a plastic rubbish bin lid to the end of the indispensible tool and used that to hold the bricks in place. It was the perfect fit having the same radius as the dome.

[mrchipster]

Re: That tool....

Hi ,
Im about to start my oven and have read almost everything on this site about pizza ovens...... but i have one question i can't find an answer to and cant answer myself.
When you are using the radius tool, how do you lay the next brick without the brick you just laid , falling? Hold it up with sticks?
Especially as the dome roof gets higher and gravity takes effect.
From what i can divulge from the information on this site everyone seems to lay a brick a day?????? : )



Any answers much appreciated.

Craig

Start with this thread and all those related it is a great tool. There are lots of variations of this tool out there, just do a search for the thread below.

My indispensible tool (a variation on a FB theme)

Chip

[rsandler]

Re: That tool....

My experience was that, even with the last few courses, I just needed to wait 5-10 minutes for the mortar to firm up a bit--as long as I was careful and didn't bump the brick just laid. With the last few really steep courses, I was having to custom-cut the bevels on each brick to get them to fit together to my satisfaction, so I'd lay one brick, go back and trim the next one, repeat, repeat, repeat.

The first brick on each course was the hardest for me--once I could get two bricks in place, the friction on the sides helped keep both in place.

That said, for the first 5-6 courses, you can pretty much just lay a brick, clean up the mortar that squirted out, then lay the next one.

[Gulf]

Re: That tool....

Banhxeo 76 had a simple but great plan. Just set the first brick of the steeper courses and have the patience to leave it supported by the despensable tool until it was set. That was the anchor point for the rest of the course. Check out post #38 of Tu's build.

[rsandler]

Re: That tool....

Banhxeo 76 had a simple but great plan. Just set the first brick of the steeper courses and have the patience to leave it supported by the despensable tool until it was set. That was the anchor point for the rest of the course. Check out post #38 of Tu's build.

Definitely try this, but I found that never worked for me--even if I let the first brick set overnight, somehow I'd manage to knock it loose while setting the next brick. That said, building an oven caused me to discover the depths of my own clumsiness so...YMMV. I found that getting two bricks in place was the trick.