Home Slice

[dmun]

I assume there are cracks under the whole floor. Will this pose a future problem when heat is thrown into the mix?

Not at all. Some people put the stuff down with a quarter inch notched trowel, so the thing is underlaid with intentional cracks. If your floor is smooth, you're good to go.

I think Alf had the best idea: Lay the stuff down dry, lay your floor, tap it in position, then water the whole floor to set it.

[redbricknick]

crack shot.

Thanks DMUN. Here is a photo of the cracks. They'll probably fill up with ash I guess. I'm going to buy some heat stop to put my arch together today.

I'm editing this post.. After calling the masonry company and hearing the price for heat stop, i'm going with something else.. $165.00 a pail..

[wlively]

Way Cheaper!

Nick

Search the net, I know the manufacturer sells 50lb bags of HeatStop50 dry for around $40-50 and even with $35 shipping, that is alot cheaper. You can also search their links for a local dealer. I found my supplier, in San Antonio and he sells it for $40 a bag.

I was also told by a local mason to buy the dry HeatStop, because the pre-wet buckets are not meant to be outdoors and wet. The dry mix is impervious to water, when cured.

Good Luck,
Wade

[redbricknick]

Good call on the dry mix. Had no idea about the wet/dry deal. I'm trying to get Heat Stop 50 to donate some of their product for the film. It'll be good product placement for them. Its going to set us back a few days though.

[redbricknick]

The opening arch. Hmm. After hours of doing, undoing, recutting arch forms, recutting bricks to fit the new arch forms, all captured in time lapse, hissy fits and all, I think I have it sorted. The plan at least. In lieu of building a masonry vent, I'm going to do an as yet decided suspended stainless vent. The opening is going to be a formed arch, with each arch brick recess cut for a door. I cut my door headers in half and then lost 2 cm off one if the halves on each side, and will custom cut each arch brick to fit a door later. (don't worry, I'm posting photos as I know I'm a rambler) I'm planning on going with the heat stop 50 to glue it all together. I spoke with the owner of the company today, and he seems likely to ship me some to be used in a product placement type scenario. The idea of some gorgeous Italian models in heat stop 50 t shirts spouting off about its wonderful ability to withstand high temperatures amuses me to no end. If Refrax has the same properties... eighth inch bonds.. cream cheese consistency, I would go with that, as I would much rather endorse a product which is available through Forno Bravo in my film.

[dmun]

It took me a while to figure this out. Heat Stop 50 and Heat Stop II are the same dry product - "50" is in a 50 pound bag, "II" is in a ten pound pail.

The wet stuff is expensive and unnecessary - Heat Stop mixes smooth and easy.

[redbricknick]

Re: Home Slice

Hello all, and a happy new year. It's been a while since my last post. We slowed down there for a bit as I had family in town. I posted a few pics of our progress, and have been shooting video footage as always. The film is going very well. We have several sponsorships, and have been very lucky with materials aquisition. I Production designed a photo shoot for the New York Times Fashion section recently where I had to recreate a dry lake bed. What materials do you think I used? That's right, fire clay and sand. After the shoot, we collected up the materials, and will reconstitute them for inclusion in the oven. Keep an eye out for the photos. I just had hernia surgery, so I'll be not building for a couple of weeks. I think we have decided on a finish for the oven. After it's insulated, we're going to cover the igloo with pennies. A fitting finish for an oven built for free. Cheers all. Nick.

[jengineer]

Pennies

Nice idea - there is a motorcycle shop spmehwere down in San Diego whose floor was made of coins. Any worthy numismatist would cringe at the idea. I probably have a few US wheat pennies around - you collecting?

[james]

Re: Home Slice

This probably qualifies as Chit Chat, but why haven't we stopped production of the penny? It is not worth anything and counting them out is a big overhead. I'm one of those people who empties his pockets into a change jar everyday.
James

[redbricknick]

insulation.

I have a fair whack of calcium silicate insulation left over, and I'm thinking about breaking it down and mixing it with perlite and portland as a spreadable insulation. Will this work, or am I on prescription pain medicine? The insulation company that donated it gave us some surplus sample fibrewool blanket insulation called firefrax which we're going to use, but it isn't enough to adequately insulate the whole oven. What have people found to make a hard shell over their insulation layer when going the igloo method? Some kind of stucco?

The pennies Jengineer. All pennies are greatly appreciated. We're thinking about interesting ways to acquire them. If Myspace/helio get involved, we want to have people donate pennies through myspace. All people donating pennies for the project will be credited and given free pizza when in Echo Park. Should I specify pre 1980 pennies? I want this sucker to look good for generations.

[jengineer]

Re: Home Slice

see chit chat for response

[redbricknick]

Re: Home Slice

Hey Y'all. I did a commercial in a defunct restaurant here in L.A which went out of business in 2000 and converted to a shooting location. It's the grimiest, greasy spoon of a dive I've ever had the displeasure of spending twelve hours in. But. As I looked through the piles of kitchen equipment, I came upon this beauty of a Hobart mixer. I told the location manager I wanted to use it as a mooring for my boat, and he let me take it. (see picture in pictures section) It leaked most of it's oil when my assistants transported it to me on it's back, but we tested it before that and it ran like a top. I plan on pulling it to bits and making it brand new again. It's named Johnny, after the diner it did it's work in.

I had a question which kind of got lost in the shuffle in the chimney section regarding using terracotta sewer pipe as a flue liner. Any thoughts anyone?

DMUN, I shot a commercial in a place I know you would have loved the other day. It's a gigantic office park which housed the company which designed and built the gyroscopic guidance systems for the missiles that were used in the Gulf war. They left everything untouched after their contract was up, and now it's used as a film location. All the original equipment is still in there. Miles of rooms full of the most precise machines of the day. I always get anxious seeing useful things going to waste, though I can't see myself ever having a need for a fully stocked machine shop being that I come from the "if all else fails, use a bigger hammer" school of construction.

[jengineer]

Re: Home Slice

Often times the machine that are purchased are provided through a contract with the US Gov. So the machine may actually be abandoned gov property. Kinda squirrely. I have a caliper set that I use once every 6 months it is checked out to me but it is owned by the US Gov, It is about 15 years old and through numerous paper shuffles I think it is now owned by our department.

There is a place a few miles from where I live that does a bang up job of Powder Coating. I had them sand blast and put on 1964 Mustang Gray, 14 louvers for my heating system. The junk that is sold at Lowe's and Home Despot is just that. Cost was $150 and I now have 55 year old heating vents that look better than when they were new.

I don't think I would replate the attachments. You really don't want this stuff flaking off into the food. Consider getting it polished instead.

[dlachez]

Re: Home Slice

The Paddles and Dough Hook are usually cast aluminum and aren't plated in the first place, but that is and ancient hobart. The bowl is usually nickle plated and the plate doesn't flake of it rubs off after years of use. Check with Starr Restaurant supply in Van Nuys, they'll have someone that renovates bowls and whipps.

[redbricknick]

Re: Home Slice

So I posted a couple of new photos today. I've been slammed with work, and haven't done much on the oven, but the arch is ready to be mortared in. I decided on cutting the dome bricks to fit the arch bricks instead of the other way round, as I want the arch to be as strong as possible. Cutting bricks with a masonry cutting wheel on an angle grinder is smooth as butter, and I figure I can make minor cuts on the arch bricks with the arch mortared in place without breaking the bonds.

The vent holes with rebar sticking out of them.. They will be part of a rebar armiture which is to be inside a cast vent. I'm going to form and cast it in place, with additional rebar support going back over the oven dome being held in place by the thermal layer of refractory concrete. This will not be a load bearing structure. It only needs to hold itself up. The flue will couple onto it, and be supported from above. I'd love to get hold of a good length of flue tile. Eight feet or so.. The only thing I can find which is close is one of those old fashioned chimney pots...

The recessed opening worked out. All the brickwork will be covered up though. I'm going to chickenwire and girth up the oven to it's final igloo shape with my thermal and insulating layers.

I plan on casting and slow curing my vent with Refrax, available through James here on Fornobravo. I've used the 1,3,1,1.. The heatstop 50, and have found refrax to dry way harder than both. If I slow cure it with damp burlap it'll take a bunker buster to break it I reckon.

Should I adhese the rebar into the holes in the arch bricks, or leave them loose fitting to allow for some expansion?

Please slap some sense into me if anything i'm talking about seems wrong. I realise it may be confusing, but it seems O.K to me. Thanks.