Making a mould for the dome.

[fox]

Thanks David, I can imagine how each one of the three I mould, will be better than the last one!
It is a learning curve but I have enjoyed the work so far..... thank you for your help.
I would like to use something with a smooth surface for the landing, I have around 30mm clearance to the top of the fire brick cooking area, Can I use standard ceramic tiles?

[david s]

Thanks David, I can imagine how each one of the three I mould, will be better than the last one!
It is a learning curve but I have enjoyed the work so far..... thank you for your help.
I would like to use something with a smooth surface for the landing, I have around 30mm clearance to the top of the fire brick cooking area, Can I use standard ceramic tiles?

Yes standard tiles should be fine. A few tips
1. use a sealer first.
2. Get a quality outdoor tile adhesive.
3. Use glossy tiles, they're way easier to clean than matt tiles.
4. Use a black grout, for the same reason.

[fox]

I used 4 x 25mm ceramic fire blanket & used two coats of cement to get this far.
First coat was mixed 2-1 with added glass fibres, second coat just standard 4-1 Portland & coarse sand.
I will use 4-1 Portland with fine sand to form the rock effect I have used on the plinth.

[fox]

David, are there any indicators to show when the dome is cured enough to start lighting a fire?

[david s]

As calcium aluminate cements achieve full strength in 24 hrs there is no need to do extended damp curing that is required with Portland cement castings, so you can do your drying fires as soon as you like. I dislike the term curing fires because it gets confused with damp curing which is the opposite (you are trying to hold moisture in) whereas oven curing is about slowly removing the water. I prefer to call it water removal. Read the thread on "oven curing" in the "Oven management" section.

[fox]

Almost there.....

[fox]

I cant find a chimney pot that will fit over the flue pipe, I hope I don't have make one!
Anyway, I have been drying the oven with smallish fires for around a week with no noticeable issues so far, so we had our first cooking fire last evening.
I got the sides up to 350c & the base to around 280c. I cooked a few dishes include some fresh mackerel I caught in the day, really good results
I have plans to build a nicely shaped hardwood roof but I must now get on with casting the next one.....

[fox]

I made a chimney from two flower pots ....

[fox]

I made this short vid .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRnlKzJSpfo

[fox]

As all the pictures are no longer viewable, I will ad a few more and include the second one out of the mould.

[fox]

The oven works really well, no cracks anywhere..

[fox]

And the latest one...

[Allie]

Oh wow! So many questions. Did you make the molds? Buy them? Your inside layer was regular cement and SS needles? Because you have it in sections it prlobabp won't crack. Pls reply with all the steps, materials list, etc.
what beautiful decorating. Love it, love it, love it!!!

[fox]

Hi Allie, sorry for the late reply!
Most of the pictures have reappeared ... they show how the domes are made including a video just a few post backup the page but please ask any specific questions...

[huseyin]

Hi Fox, one question.

After using it for years, have you observed any drawbacks, flaws, or missing regarding your project? I mean, Is there anything you wish you hadn't done or done differently, might be about material, concept or way of doing?