started my build and have some questions.

[autumncs]

Finally finished the inside dome and had some long days with late nights. Letting the oven air curer at the moment and will start the fire curing soon.

Under lights not the best but had to get it done.

I have a question my last 2 rows and the keystone I didn't get enough mortar inside the dome should I fill by hand or leave it?

[autumncs]

I simplified the jig today. lol. And the wedge after a couple of cuts stuck to the tabletop due to the water and dust.

Worked out with just changing the back angle I can get the 3 cuts needed to get the 2 bricks. Made a couple of wrong cuts however they are on the back face of the bricks.

Only had about 1.5 hours and was able to cut most of the next row.

[autumncs]

autumncs, good catch on your brick cutting. I would recommend taking a wet sponge and cleaning the excess mortar off the bricks/joints as you go on the interior. it looks like you've done it on your entryway bricks. much easier to do as you go before the mortar hardens.

Thanks yes I have been doing that along the way. this was taken in between laying and cleaning up.

[gastagg]

autumncs, good catch on your brick cutting. I would recommend taking a wet sponge and cleaning the excess mortar off the bricks/joints as you go on the interior. it looks like you've done it on your entryway bricks. much easier to do as you go before the mortar hardens.

[autumncs]

I had an interesting day yesterday, started my first row of the dome and realized that I've truck the jig and got an angle backwards, the permanent angle is backwards on the jig, easy fixed and glad I work it out now where it's not that great of an angle.

In the mist of laying the coarse the wind picked up and blow over my beehive o my shed roof. Luckily a friend just turned up and he had just finished inspecting his hives and had is suit in the car. So up he went.

[autumncs]

I dry mixed my first few large batches of mortar in my cement mixer (sticking to the sides is not an issue dry), then switched to using a paint stirrer like you plan and a gear reduced half inch drill for the wet stuff and the remainder of the dry mix to complete the dome and vent. This seemed to work well for me as I was working alone and pretty much could only finish a course a day. I switched back to the big mixer to dry mix my stucco, as you use lots of that fast, but still did the wet mix with the stirrer and drill.

Yep that sounds like a good idea.

yes stucco i would normally mix in a mixer. similar mix but the fire clay makes it stickier if you know what i mean

thanks for the advise

[JRPizza]

I dry mixed my first few large batches of mortar in my cement mixer (sticking to the sides is not an issue dry), then switched to using a paint stirrer like you plan and a gear reduced half inch drill for the wet stuff and the remainder of the dry mix to complete the dome and vent. This seemed to work well for me as I was working alone and pretty much could only finish a course a day. I switched back to the big mixer to dry mix my stucco, as you use lots of that fast, but still did the wet mix with the stirrer and drill.

[autumncs]

JRPizza yep i had 3 others here yesterday at one point, 1 was doing other work for me and i the other 2, worked on me having a problem with cutting the bricks (because of my self doubt) and we spent a couple of hours working it out until i went lets just trusted the spreadsheet.

i have a small cement mixer which i mixed the mortar in. I'm changing to a paint stirrer and a bucket. the mortar just stuck to the sides of the mixer.

well better go and do some more coarse.

[JRPizza]

will more people helping slow up the process or speed it up? It seems like mainly a one person job and I know some jobs take longer with more people.

I know what you mean about more can be slower, I call it "subtraction by addition". That said, having a helper at this stage of the build can be valuable if they don't mind doing the "grunt work". If you have your bricks cut, having a helper mix your mortar and do all the cleanup can save you a bunch of time. Sometimes it seemed like I spent almost as much time cleaning up the saw, my tools and all the buckets etc., plus mixing mortar (both my dry and wet mix), as I did laying bricks.

[autumncs]

OK finally got building the dome today. I've built mrchipster 's jig with a little problem of not building the jig with a cut out which made the 3rd cut difficult. And 3 of us debating the angles with the jig.

The board from the local supplier was ceramic fiber broad, and at $33 a sheet more reasonable than the $360 from Melbourne.

Hopefully tomorrow is a fine day so I can do the next couple of courses.

[autumncs]

So I've found a supplier of some insulation board, I don't know what it is but their supplier says it's perfect for the under floor of a WFO, I'll find out what it is on Monday. They only come in 1000 x 600 mm (about 3' 4" x 2') sheets or if I wanted to special order larger sheets from Denmark. Well no let's get this oven moving.

I've cut the floor tiles to suit and it has been set to what fnbroken suggested 810mm diameter. Gee the wet tiles were easy to cut with a diamond blade. I'm gong to have to buy a diamond blade for the cut off saw, used the angle grinder for the floor tiles.

I've decided to soldier the first row however I'm going to use full bricks, 3 reasons here, less cutting, a bit more thermal mass and maybe a bit more stability while building.

I do have more questions, well one main one, I'm under the pump time wise, will more people helping slow up the process or speed it up? It seems like mainly a one person job and I know some jobs take longer with more people.

[gastagg]

MrChipster recommended that I don't do soldier, but instead stacked 1/2 bricks to get the height I wanted before starting the arch. I think there was some concern about the stability.

[UtahBeehiver]

Our Southern Hemi bros have to deal with such expensive material costs. Consider using perlite or vermiculite/cement 5 to 1 ratio. Not as good as ceramic fiber board so requires more thickness but it is a possible cost saving option. Roughly a .70-.75 K factor (P/Cmix) vs .55-.60 K factor (CF board). You do not need to taper soldiers unless you want to. Remember you do not need to follow the Pompeii plans 100% in fact the plans are somewhat dated and many new innovations have been developed recently.

[autumncs]

I do have another question.

With the first course I'm soldiering them the Pompeii oven plans says to cut them length ways, do you taper them?

[autumncs]

autumncs, I have a 33" oven and have done parties up to 50 people eating within a 2hr window and with some help, get 3-4 pizza in at a time. Don't know what you're work schedule is, but getting it done by mid-Nov would be great! Keep us posted on the progress!

Thanks @Gasstagg 33" is about what I'm looking at doing.

With the sheet insulation here it seems that it's very expensive as in approx 3 ' by 7 ' by 1" sheet from one supplier was going to cost $360. I have another company looking for me. On the other hand I may not need to buy the blanket as I have a customer who uses it for there furnace and said I could have some. I don't know how much some is but some is better than none.