Raffy's WFO Build

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Hey Raffy,,
Everything looks great, (except your foot) nice job on the arch. Looks sturdy as helll..... keep going but please be a little more careful...

Cheers
Mark

[eprante]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Nice work Raffy! It is gratifying to see the rows go up. Keep up the good work, and hang on tight to the grinder.
Eric

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Thanks for the concern, guys. Rest assured, lesson learned. I admit I was lucky and good thing I had the presence of mind to recover from the slip. If not I would have been hobbled like James Caan in that movie Misery Hehehe. Oops did I just reveal my age with that movie reference? Hahaha

Laying the brick for the dome is very fulfilling. I can't wait for tomorrow to lay the next couple of courses.

It's so nice to share this oven building experience with you guys and the FornoBravo community. Too bad we can't share the first pizza together as well. Who knows? If you find yourselves in this neck of the woods be sure to holler.

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

I know I said I'd lay down a couple of courses but we did three today. Couldn't help myself as the mortar hardened we just kept plodding along. We are at the point where we need to brace the bricks from slipping with a few flexible round bar. It's a bit like a stiff coat hanger wire.

I'm thinking of reducing the size of the bricks by tomorrow. The joints are starting to get wider (and more triangular) and I can't taper cut the bricks cause all I have is a grinder. I'm thinking to reduce the size to 1/3 of the brick and as I get closer to the keystone reduce it further to 1/4 the size of the brick. I just want to make sure the joints of the bricks are less than 1/8 inch. I'd love any advice regarding this keeping in mind I am armed with only an angle grinder.

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

More pics of todays progress. My dog was like, "When is my dogloo going to be finished?!?!"

[eprante]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Raffy,
I recognize the symptoms, you are manifesting a severe case of WFO fever. It can only be cured by eating large amounts of wood fired pizza and hearth bread. Keep up the good work.
Eric

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Raffy,
I recognize the symptoms, you are manifesting a severe case of WFO fever. It can only be cured by eating large amounts of wood fired pizza and hearth bread. Keep up the good work.
Eric

Hehehe! How true... so true! I am quite eager to start cooking. I'll be turning into the pizza monster soon! Hahaha

I'm almost there! Did 3 more courses and I was forced to find a way to taper the brick with the angle grinder. As the top of the dome closes in, the top edges of the brick have to be cut off for a snug fit. The joints were getting too big for my taste so I went ahead despite the absence of a precision cutting tool (a wet tile saw is a must have, for sure). Not all the angles of the cuts were uniform but, hey, what can you do with just an angle grinder? The third pic shows us laying the tapered brick for a better fit.

The 8th course looks good albeit egg-shaped but I can live with that. Can't wait to finish the remaining courses and close it with a keystone tomorrow.

Yay!

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Hey Raffy,,,
Looking great... Are you leaving a reveal for your door ?? I cant tell from the pics ......

Looks great so far
Cheers
Mark

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Hey Raffy,,,
Looking great... Are you leaving a reveal for your door ?? I cant tell from the pics ......

Looks great so far
Cheers
Mark

Yup there is a half inch reveal for the door.

I have good news! I just plugged in my keystone! (boy, does that sound dirty if you didn't know the masonry terms) Hahaha! The dome is finally done. Finito! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Time to savor the moment and relax a bit.

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

More pics...

[fxpose]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Wow! Your stand and dome went up in no time. Nice job.

[eprante]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Raffy,
Nice work, especially using only an angle grinder. I am feeling pretty slow, but hope to finish my dome tomorrow. Keep up the nice work.
E

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

hey raffy,,,

Great job looks really good and fast too,,, now the hard part,, waiting for it to cure.. What kind of chimney are you planning ??

[Raffy]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Hi Guys,

Well, I still have some interior dome work to do so I'm not out of the woods yet. I guess you could say I have a burning desire to get cooking. =) It's been a while since I baked my last pizza and I kinda miss it. Oh, btw, I was browsing through the recipes in this forum and they are fantastic! I can't wait to try some of them out. I ran into your turkey recipe, Mark, and I'm just itching to try it out. With regards to bread, all I've done before was foccacia and the occasional panini bread. I'd like to expand my "bread" knowledge. I can't wait to view Eric's cooking threads especially since he loves to bake bread.


Mark, the chimney will be made from brick (something like your chimney) which will transition into an 6-inch tube to make it higher. Don't want the neighbors complaining about the smoke. I'd love to pre-cast the chimney transition but I don't think we have the time or resources to make the mold. In addition, living in a tropical country, there is an absence of clay flues in the market since, I imagine, there is no demand for fireplaces hehehe.

Waiting for the oven to cure before firing will be excruciating, but, I feel it will be an enforced (and necessary) pause in the build which will also help me to just stop and appreciate what we have accomplished.

Eric, please post pics of your keystone and dome once its done. I eagerly follow your progress and your build is like my build as well. Regards to the Missus.

Warm Regards,
Raffy

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: Raffy's WFO Build

Hey Raffy,,,,
You can help the cure by leaving a halogen worklight inside the dome, it will provide a constant gentle heat... The turkey was great, I cooked it without fire in the oven, took a little over an hour for a 13 lb bird.. If you like the smokey taste you can leave a small fire or coals in the oven, the fire will prob go out when you close the door but the coals will give it flavor... Whenever i cook dirty steak I use cherry wood which really makes it taste good..

Cheers
Mark