Home Slice

[redbricknick]

I'm starting a new thread here as we have rounded a corner, laid the floor, and are going forward with the dome build. Without using forms, and utilising the stick from the center method, how would I go about ensuring my dome height ends up at the 18 inches recommended for the low vault oven? Do I really need to build a low vault oven? Does it really make that much of a difference? Hmm. I know I'm building a pizza oven here, but I'm pretty amped up about bread and roasts as well. I may just split the difference and try for a twenty inch ceiling. Our documentary is predominately about pizza, and I don't want to do anything that will seriously hinder our goal of making the best pizza ever.

As far as our vent goes, I want to suspend it from a curved pole which will originate at the back corner of the oven. Our landing space is huge, and having a vent with no sides will drastically improve our manouvering space at the oven entry. Has anyone done this before? My plan is to run two rods out of the entry arch which will couple with the vent and first piece of chimney. The main chimney will attach to this at the bottom and attach to an anchored, curved pole at the top. Let me know if I need to explain this further, or if there's something I'm not seeing which will hinder this idea.

The photos are of some laborers we had help with our mini crush. I know they're not much to look at, but they get the job done. Our wine will be named Chixphite.

[christo]

helpers

You're not bragging are you? I wish I had skilled helpers like that...

Makes me want to switch from brewing beer to wine!

The oven floor looks very nice!!!!!

[CanuckJim]

Labourers

Redbrick,

Give it up, my man. Your forte is obviously in suplying labourers for all of us building ovens. Think of yourself as a talent scout from now on. Nice oven floor, but....

Jim

[dmun]

clarification of vent idea...

As far as our vent goes, I want to suspend it from a curved pole which will originate at the back corner of the oven. Our landing space is huge, and having a vent with no sides will drastically improve our manouvering space at the oven entry. Has anyone done this before? My plan is to run two rods out of the entry arch which will couple with the vent and first piece of chimney. The main chimney will attach to this at the bottom and attach to an anchored, curved pole at the top.

I'm afraid I don't understand this at all. Perhaps you could post a sketch of what you mean?

[maver]

poles? rods?

submit a sketch please of your vent plan, I'm lost trying to understand your idea, although I'd probably focus better if I wasn't trying to figure out what your grapes are experiencing.

As far as low dome, from my n of 1 I suggest you set up shims for the dome construction. Lay out your diameter and height on a flat surface and prepare a parabola with bricks to fit the dome arch profile. Make it as even and "parabolic" as you can, use math if you must, then measure the gaps (I used whole bricks and made 9" shims tapered from the gap at 9" to a point - this gives you plenty of handle). Average out the readings on the two sides to be sure it's even. Each row of bricks will have it's own shim. Although it might sound hard, it was really easy, and it worked perfectly - my dome height is exactly 18". And I've had no problem roasting in my oven.

[redbricknick]

So, I had an eight year old draw up a rudimentary sketch, which hopefully will explain what I'm talking about. (A) represents two bars which are built into the opening arch (B). The vent (the ventish looking thing above the arch which is colored in) slots into the bars. This will either be cast in one piece, of fabricated from metal. The chimney attatches onto the vent, and is supported by a coupling, (C) which is attached to (D), a heavy duty bent pole of some sort which is cemented into the ground (E).

The main reason I want to go with a design similar to this is to eliminate the "tunnel" walls of a traditional vent and increase the available work area at the front of the oven. The bent pole wont be nearly as evident as in the crappy drawing, and will serve a purpose as a lighting stand.

Our chimney has to be super high, as we have apartment buildings right behind the oven.

As promised, all the work will be done by gorgeous, impressionable models, and thoroughly documented.

[christo]

poles

I like the concept. Might need a little more info to help.

One pole or two? One from each back corner of the oven would help control the vent. Reason for this - obtain triangulation in 3 d.

How tall is the vent expected to be and how tall are the poles? How far away from the vent are the pole footing(s)? Diameter and material choice for the pole(s)? Reason for this info to see how much the pipes can be twisted (w/spring back vs. permanent deformation) over long lengths. Even spring would be bad in resonance - think tacoma narrows bridge.....

I can't wait for more pictures of your progress!!! (with or without models)

Christo

[dmun]

I don't see any reason this wouldn't work, if the hood was fabricated in metal. A cast refractory number would be too heavy to be supported from above like that. The flue elements are very strong in compression, but not so strong in side forces.

I think two supports would be a must, creating a strong three legged stool. You don't want this thing whipping around in the wind.

[maver]

The material and technique of bending for the bent pole is pretty important here as the bending could introduce a weak point in the metal. From the design standpoint what about two straight poles with two lighter bracing rods connecting between the two to give triangulation?

I think your original concept could lack lateral stability. The lower rods could serve some weight bearing function but may not be able to stabilize the flue laterally.

[wlively]

Dome

While working on my dome I found an alternate method.

You, of course want to layout your curve on something flat and see how your bricks match up to the curve. I started out then trying to use the measure gap method and found it painful to use, due to variations in brick thinkness. I then remembered I have a digital level and used math to divide the number of tilted rows into 90 deg. It worked well on my board and I am level 4 and it is working great. Very easy to put any shim in until I get my magic number of degrees.

Just another thought.

Wade

[james]

My two cents are here:

http://fornobravo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1194

James

[redbricknick]

Thanks all for the informative responses. I tried laying out a 43 inch dome layout, and realized there is a reason for the 42. Duh. How do we all feel about not mortaring the bottom of the soldier course? Would mortaring the outside suffice?

[arevalo53anos]

Yes.

The soldier brick as long as all bricks that compound the first file of the dome do not need to be mortared to hearth. These will be supported by external cladding.

Luis

[dmun]

I mortared down my soldier course, to free floating bricks, but it was only two inches high. I figured the mortaring had to start somewhere, might as well be there.

[redbricknick]

Underfloor cracks

Hmm. When we mixed the 1 to 1 sand, fireclay underfloor, I misread the directions, and mixed it real wet. We spread it on and leveled our floor with the wet mixture, and continued on. We set the soldier course yesterday, and I lifted a couple of floor tiles up to find that the clay had set hard, with cracks about half an inch width and unknown length running through it. I assume there are cracks under the whole floor. Will this pose a future problem when heat is thrown into the mix?