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The closer I get to the completion of my oven, the more special time I want to spend on the its door. For me, it's probably going to be the last piece that I focus on, and I feel it should have it's own style and character.
The door sort of serves as the gate between you and the oven's chamber, where all things good happen. I really want the door to be unique for that reason.
hello all.
my uncle, In Italy, Has had a brick oven for over 50 years, He has never used anything but the same wood door. I believe it is olive wood (very hard to get here.) it is just a solid piece cut to fit with brass handles. His trick was, The night before he would put it in a bucket of water with a rock on top of it, allowing it to soak up as much water as possible. The steam generated also gave the bread a beautiful crust. And when the door dried out he would turn it around and use the other side,, I will be doing the same thing, but am thinking of using purpleheart wood. i have a piece in a bucket now soaking and will have the before and after weights to see how much water it can hold,,, Lets hear your thoughts ??
I might be a little hesitant to use purpleheart... I've heard it's dust has properties as an irritant. Besides, it's color fades pretty quickly when left outdoors, so I'm not so sure it would be much better than something comparable... maybe walnut, maybe oak. Something I'm certain is nontoxic, basically.
Personally, I'm leaning toward the "soak it & use it until it's charred" method as well... but as my oven is not yet beyond the digging foundations stage, it will be a while until I can get back to you all with results.
i do have a nice big piece of ambrosia maple, also a piece of mahogany and teak (old growth) problem with teak is still too oily.. mahogany maybe.. maybe i will just order a solid piece of maple and see how it goes with that. you are right about the purpleheart being an irritant, i can remember that from cutting it. thanks for the info
The tape's purpose in life is high heat applications. It's name (fiberglass tape) is a bit misleading, it is a 2" x 1/8" fiberglass weave . Around here it goes for $60 for a 100ft roll. I happily purchased the roll for the sake of the 6 feet I used because I couldn't come up with a better idea for encasing the two pieces of insulation board without using a material that contradicts the concept of an insulated door. The tape works perfectly, it has been in place for a little over one year, and remains rock solid.
Quick math and the photo below will tell you I have a bit left over. If you go down this path drop me a note, I would be happy to sell you what you need for your door for $3.60 (assuming 6 feet) plus whatever it costs to get it to you (pretty lightweight stuff). Also if you are interested I can send you out instructions on how to create the door.
Thanks Jim, that's very helpful. Do you then just paint adhesive over the tape to saturate it. And what did you use on the back face of the ceramic board (facing the fire)? Was that too layered with tape?
I picked up some kiln repair product yesterday that i will try to use as a layer to encase the 2" FB board. I first used some "rigidizer" on the board to make it a little more stable. If this combo doesn't work I'll be in the tape business with you.
Bill,
No, actually the only thing applied to the tape is the adhesive that adheres it to the insulation board inside, this keeps the untreated outside the "give" necessary for a nice tight fit to the entrance wall. The outside back (towards the fire) is a piece of sheet metal, next in line towards the door front is a layer of 1" insulation board, then another piece of sheet metal that acts as a heat sink for the screws connecting the back piece to the middle piece, then another piece of 1" insulation, then the oak front. A separate set of screws connect the middle sheet metal to the oak front (insulation board in between). The back piece of metal is cut slightly smaller on the sides and top so that there is a slight slope in, which serves to prevent the fiberglass tape from catching on the side and also forms a wedge-like fit to the door.
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