Show us your Door Thread

[ogopogodude]

Interesting ... I went to eBay and typed in pizza oven cast iron door and came across almost the exact same one that I purchased 5 years ago. The three differences are: 1. it opens on the opposite side (hinge is on the right hand side) 2. there is a cool temperature gauge instead of my "peek-a-boo" swinging latch 3. there is a horizontal vent on the bottom of the door (very useful, I would think) The pricing is about the same as what I paid a few years ago.

[ogopogodude]

I must say, that I really do like my cast iron reproduction door as it is very sturdy and solid ....and it was delivered from Europe (UK) in a very sturdy box.

[Yokosuka dweller]

I'm getting ready to make a door for my oven and will check this valuable thread. I have some questions about it maybe someone can chime in:

I finally bought a welder, something I've been wanting to get into, so this is a good time to do so. It's a multi-welder machine that can do tig, arc, and also mig welding. Because I have no experience and want to keep cost down, I want to do non-gas flux core mig welding. I read online that flux core mig welding won't make a nice result compared to tig welding, but that it's easier for beginners. I don't really mind if it ain't a super pretty result, as long as it works. Also, stainless welding wire is hard and expensive to find here in my neck of the woods. Is it possible and okay for me to weld stainless with a normal mild steel flux core wire? Will it stick to the stainless? I realise it won't be immune to rusting then, but I thought I can just spraypaint a coat of heat resistant color over the welds. Is that a possible way to do it?

Finally, what is a good thickness of steel plate for the door I need to look at, is 1mm enough? And how thick is a good thickness of the door? Is 2" enough? Sorry about the confusion between metric and imperial systems. I'm challenged here...

[JRPizza]

What is your welding skill level? My door inner shell is 20 gauge mild steel (~.812mm) and I had trouble not burning through so welded my door with a series of tacks. Later I went back with some scrap and was able to do continuous welds without burning through but for a door the tack method works fine. You can weld stainless (at least some kinds) with mild steel wire but as you said the welds will rust if you don't protect them. I personally disliked using flux core wire due to the spatter, slag, and smoke but mig with gas is great. Whatever you decide to do hopefully you have plenty of material and you can practice to get the machine dialed in. You can make a door any thickness, but I did 4" to make the door stiff (avoid warpage), make it stable (mine does not rock at all) and maximize the insulating properties. You just have to read what others have done and see what you are comfortable with. Check out my thread and see how I made my door so I could have all my welds at inside corners, as I have a heck of a time welding along outside corners.
PS, if you do a web search you will find lots of folks saying they have welded stainless with mild steel wire, and a bunch more folks telling them how bad it is

[Yokosuka dweller]

Hi JR, thanks a lot for the response and inputs and sorry for the slow response. I didn't see this until now. No notification and I've been trying to avoid internet a bit to due to mental overload of bad news from the state of the world.

I am checking your door in the link, and yes, incidentally I have begun my door in a similar manner as your door. I cut 1,5mm mild steel plate (just under 18 gauge) for 4" thickness of the door where I will stuff with leftover inswool blanket, perlite and whatever I have left.

Definitely I should practice weld some before going at the door sheet pieces I've cut. Don't want to mess it up. I don't have access to gas, so will have to be flux core mig and try to spot weld as much as possible on the insides so most of the splatter is hidden from plain sight. Then I thought to weld the bottom at the very last, so that the external welds are not in your face. However, if I do 1/2" lip in the front bottom then those welds will be visible. Oh well, as long as it works and is stable.

I also ordered some bbq insulation tape to put around the edges of the door to make a nice fit in the arch and retain heat better. I think it's not fiberglass. Want to keep that away from the food area.

One question I had though was how much smaller I need to have the metal sheets than the arch diameter? It should be a bit smaller both for sliding door in and out easily, and allow for heat expansion of the door. I read others have reduced by 1/4", but seems a lot to me. I will think about it some more before going at it.

Cheers!

[JRPizza]

Not sure how much smaller I made mine - it is a nice sliding fit and does not get stuck when hot, but I'm starting to see some minor chipping around the periphery from banging with the door. Nothing to worry about and eventually the edges will round a little making insertion easier.
I hear you about visible tack welds in the front lower edge, but if you pay attention to spacing (which I didn't) I don't think they are too unsightly. It looks better than what my attempt to weld an outside joint would have. Most of the comments I get are like, "OK, you built your oven, where did you buy the door"? It kinda blows people's mind who have known me for ages because I never demonstrated any masonry or welding skills in the past.
I'm also pretty happy with the method of tacking nuts on the door inner face to attach my handles. They loosen occasionally and I don't over-tighten as I'd hate to have a nut break loose but I like the fact I can pull the handles off if I want to paint etc. I've been thinking about making a thin wood veneer for the face that I would just attach using the handle bolts. The face gets warm enough to make the knuckles uncomfortable the morning after a fire and I think wood would have a lower emissivity than the steel face keeping heat in better. I bought some insulating gasket intended for the large egg type cookers, but need to wait till I clean all the cresote and minor rust off the door before I can stick it on (I've had it for a few years )

[deejayoh]

Definitely I should practice weld some before going at the door sheet pieces I've cut. Don't want to mess it up. I don't have access to gas, so will have to be flux core mig and try to spot weld as much as possible on the insides so most of the splatter is hidden from plain sight. Then I thought to weld the bottom at the very last, so that the external welds are not in your face. However, if I do 1/2" lip in the front bottom then those welds will be visible. Oh well, as long as it works and is stable.

I used a flux-core welder as well. two tips
1) don't weld the front bottom lip. Cut the metal a bit longer and use a metal brake to put in a 90. that way you only have to weld the back
2) Flap disk and paint are your friend! Flux core will leave quite a bit of spatter to clean up anyway. But end of the day, a grinder & paint make me the welder I ain't!

Good luck!

[JRPizza]

I used a flux-core welder as well. two tips
1) don't weld the front bottom lip. Cut the metal a bit longer and use a metal brake to put in a 90. that way you only have to weld the back ...

Dennis, the purpose of the front bottom lip is to give an inside joint to weld while closing up the door. What order did you weld up your door to take advantage of the folded up front bottom edge?

[Yokosuka dweller]

I used a flux-core welder as well. two tips
1) don't weld the front bottom lip. Cut the metal a bit longer and use a metal brake to put in a 90. that way you only have to weld the back
2) Flap disk and paint are your friend! Flux core will leave quite a bit of spatter to clean up anyway. But end of the day, a grinder & paint make me the welder I ain't!

Good luck!

Thanks for the tips. By front you mean the side to the exit of the oven? I'm not sure entirely I understand your first comment. Mostly I saw only example of the back having a lip, not the front - as it were. And yes as JR says, what is a good sequence for welding together the pieces in your opinion?

And, I put down my first beads yesterday on a piece of scap metal. The weld looked like an explosion of vomit on the metal. Needless to say it will be a little while before I attempt to weld the actual door.

[deejayoh]

Thanks for the tips. By front you mean the side to the exit of the oven? I'm not sure entirely I understand your first comment. Mostly I saw only example of the back having a lip, not the front - as it were. And yes as JR says, what is a good sequence for welding together the pieces in your opinion?

And, I put down my first beads yesterday on a piece of scap metal. The weld looked like an explosion of vomit on the metal. Needless to say it will be a little while before I attempt to weld the actual door.

yes - bottom of the door, externally facing. you can cut the front of the door with a flap on the bottom that you bend back if you have a metal brake. That then becomes the bottom of the insulated section of the door. Tack on the rim, and weld on the back plate. Saves you a weld in a visible part of the door.

[Yokosuka dweller]

Thanks to deejayoh and JRPizza for guidance on how to weld your own door. I basically managed to do it.
I used 16 gauge/1,5mm mild steel sheet cut and ground it based on the arch form from the bricks work. Then mig welded it all to fit. I also made the door 10cm/4" thick and filled that cavity with leftover inswool from the dome insulation. I had exactly enough wool so that worked well. Then painted with matte black stove paint (650C) and glued some bbq tape on the inside lip. I made two wooden handles from peach wood and a 4cm distance SS pipe for the bolts to go through and into the door. On the rear side I tightened the nuts and when the fit looked alright I welded the nuts to stay in place to allow unscrewing or replacing the handles from the outside at some later stage if necessary.

The door fits like a good shoe. Only area where it isn't flush is caused by my own variations in the inner arch work, where there is some slight degree of 'twist'. This creates a few mm gap in one corner between door an arch, but since the door itself is so hefty thick, I don't think much heat is lost.

I should add that the door works very well in retaining heat. And also if you place it at the very front arch so there is a 1cm cap around the door edge so you can see the fire in the oven it creates a draw that feeds the fire keeps it steady, completely avoiding any smoke to escape from the front. That's a benefit for sure.

Some pics:

[JRPizza]

Good job - Nice looking door!

[Mongo]

I don't weld so put this wood door together for about $140 and a few hours work. Red oak.
I'm putting it on the oven the morning after a pizza fire and getting a nice baking temp in the 300's for 2 days.
I couldn't resist placing it on the oven before bed on the night of a pizza fire and charred it pretty good. The next day the oven temp was 550 in the afternoon. Stayed in the baking range for 2 more days.
I'm having a metal door made but I really love this little bugger.

Going to be interesting to compare the 'performance' of an insulated stainless door to the wooden version. I suspect it won't be much different.

[UtahBeehiver]

Could be a little, K value of oak is about 0.17 and stainless about 8ish. Put some CaSi board or ceramic blanket inside and it will help reduce the heat transmission. But SS would burn up either. PS wood doors work great at lower temps.

[Mongo]

Metal door!
The dude that made this builds race cars. Very talented.
There's 3 inches of blanket inside. Used it for the first time last Saturday night after a pizza fire. Works like a charm.
The handles are replacements for concrete floats. Bolted to nuts that are tacked onto the backside of the front plate. Thanks to JRPizza

At baking temps we will still use the wood door. Lighter weight so my wife likes it better.