Homebrew cast oven build in Scotland

[Scottish Al]

Rendering over the vermiculite

[Scottish Al]

Bigger curing fires and more rendering done

[Scottish Al]

First pizza

[Scottish Al]

Well first pizzas tonight and i must say wow, done 4 in total first one cooked in 2 mins Posted a link to a youtube video, hope this works first time doing this.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=tjmA5FdDBZs

Just need to paint and tile the outside base, think i will build a roof over this due to the scottish weather.

[Scottish Al]

My oven has a internal diameter of 750mm or 30" and overall dimension of 1600mm by 1400mm due to the weather and work constraints it has taken me 4 months to get to this stage after years of dreaming and researching, which has paid off as 8 hours after my first cook i still had 131 degC temp in the oven sure this will get better as i think it must still hold some moisture from what i have read. Will get the upper floor base tiled with red terracotta tiles and the front curve tiled with mosaic tiles paint the dome and base walls white then build a roof over the oven. Don't think i will achive this in 2019 as we have already had our first frost however next spring i will complete and start the drying fires for a summer of WFO fun thanks for all the great information posted on this site really appreciated.

[UtahBeehiver]

Very innovative use of an old metal gate for rebar. There are several repurposers on this forum. I believe you made the right choice by NOT going with a Vcrete dome. The homebrew dense cast will be much more durable. Thanks for sharing.

[Scottish Al]

UtahBeehiver thanks for taking the time to reply yes agree best to reuse and recycle were possible also saves you a bit of cash. Was going to buy rebar but was £28 for a 8 x 4 sheet had no way of transporting this without asking favours so went to the local scrap yard but they only had full sheets as well☹ looked around and seen the old gate £4 and fitted in the back of the car.

[gianlucaf]

saw you video, great job !!! noticed you had no smoke coming out front.
Many ovens I see have black soot by top of front arch.
wondering is that's still the case and if you could share your flue gallery and chimney diameter plans.

[UtahBeehiver]

The pizza will get better and better as you get to know your oven. One suggestion, a small banjo shape metal peel will help you with turning the pizzas in the oven, the loading peel you have is just too big. You can make one relatively easy, since you are a repurposer, an old stainless steel refrigerator or bbq grill ss panel will work. Even aluminum will work and easier to cut.

[Scottish Al]

Thanks for all the replies, my oven flue is 6" diameter and 1 meter high, kept to the 62% ratio for hight and half the oven diameter for the door width. The tunnel entrance is about 12" deep with the flue starting 2" from the dome, this leaves 4" before the door. Got all this info from this site and the uk wood fired oven fourm, thanks guys totally agree the pizza peel i made is way to big just 1" smaller than the entrance! Was made in a hurry in work so i could use the oven last weekend. Will make a smaller one and 8" round peel / banjo style. Also plan to make a flame / heat deflector to sit between the fire and the pizza, was also going to make a andiron to sit the wood on and a ash scraper with the other end of the pole a hook to help move castiron trays around when i try roasts I work for a engineer company so get the material and making is easy. have seen some people use blow pipes to help get the fire started but so far have had no problem with lightning under the flue then pushing back once going.

[Scottish Al]

Hi All, just been catching up on the forum some great builds out there can't wait to next spring when i can fire the oven up and get my first full years use out of it after this years build. Going to start the curing process again just to be on the safe side curious about the usual spring time start up process you all go through, any advice would be appreciated. I know some of you lucky ones use all year round maybe next year when i buil a gazebo / roof structure over the oven. Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

[Scottish Al]

Sorry forgot to add to the post a video i made of the build see below youtube link
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RGbhENfOpjo

[Minnie]

Hello! Your oven looks great - exactly the right compromise between engineering and cash, also something I have a decent chance of replicating.. Not sure if you are still a regular user, but I wondered if you could advise me on the home-brew mix? Is the 1:1:1:3 volume or weight? And how does this translate to a mixed up volume? I'm also based in Scotland, I have found 'fire clay' on ebay but if you know of any branded products that are the same thing tips would be much appreciated! It seems to be a bit of an elusive product. Thanks in advance )

[david s]

The homebrew recipe is parts by volume. Here are some dry densities I measured recently,
fine sand 1397 g/L (kg/m3) coarse sand 1525
GP cement 1109
powdered clay 742
hydrated lime 620
When mixed dry the volume will be reduced because the finer materials find their way into the spaces between the coarser ones. Also there is a further slight reduction in volume when mixed with water.

[Scottish Al]

Minnie, thanks for your comment. See David has already answered, agree by volume, would take his advice as he guided me with my build and is the site expert for cast ovens imho. I got my fire clay from https://jcpbm.co.uk/ in Glasgow but got my fire bricks from http://www.macgregorandmoir.com/ also in Glasgow. Was down to price and availability at the time. Good luck with your build takes time but is definitely worth it the pizza's are amazing. Looking forward to trying other foods like breads and roast this summer