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**boccu** · 01-28-2007, 01:09 PM

Re: Boccu's oven

Some pics of the dome coming up. These are the earlier stages showing levelled out brick floor, the door opening ready to join the rings and then what I think must be the fifth ring going over the doorway (I used a 'tent' angle iron for this)

B

**boccu** · 01-28-2007, 01:20 PM

Re: Boccu's oven

some more pics showing the sand form that I put in at about the 7th ring wehen I lost the battle with gravity

. The next pic shows the final keystone going in and ........ (drumrolls please

).... the inside of the dome a few minutes later! I removed the sand form immediately to make sure it stood on its own. Not sure what I would have done had it not stood!

So I dedicated Elton John's song "I'm still standing" to this oven!

Next step should be for me to work out how to build the vent and chimney area. I also need to decide a couple of things so would appreciate some replies here:
1. Is pointing of internal oven walls really necessary? I know it makes the oven look really much better when pointed, but is it necessary? I read somewhere that it may also be detrimental because the mortar may fall out?

2. Should I start the curing fires now or should I wait until some natural curing takes place? Are the curing fires done before or after the chimney area is ready or does this not matter?

B

**maver** · 01-28-2007, 03:57 PM

Re: Boccu's oven

Boccu, I think the multicolored bricks in the dome look great. You did a nice job fitting the bricks, especially at the vertex of the dome. Well done! It has been suggested here before that pointing the interior of the dome will help to prevent a hot corner of brick from spalling. Then again, I suspect you might have spalling of mortar more easily than firebrick unless you are using a true refractory mortar (like FB sells, or other commercial product like heatstop). And yes, wait for some drying before beginning curing fires. Look at the pompeii directions for the length of time.

**CanuckJim** · 01-30-2007, 06:57 AM

Re: Boccu's oven

Boccu,

I'd definitely point the interior bricks. As Maver suggests, exposing the corners and edges of the bricks to direct flame will cause spalling over time. Also, you don't want to cause any undue turbulence inside the oven that will affect draw. It's a hassle, I know, believe me, but you should do it, and you should use refractory mortar for it.

Mixing pointing mortar is a bit different from other applications. I've gone into pointing procedures and tools in other threads, but you should mix the mortar on the dry side, almost crumbly, so it holds together while you push it into the joints. Wait for it to set up, then use a pointing trowel to work the mortar joint flush, smooth and shiny. After that, you can use a fairly stiff brush to take off any crumbs that remain.

Jim

**boccu** · 02-04-2007, 12:38 PM

Re: Boccu's oven

Thanks Maver and Jim for your comments - much appreciated! As you can see from the attached I have since built the front arch and attached the chimney (somehow!!

) and I am now ready for the curing fires, which I hope to begin today. I also did some pointing of the more serious gaps on the internal face before constructing the arch.

Next steps will be to cover the whole dome with 4" - 6" of vermiculite concrete and the outer plastering. I will also try to 'create' some oven tools and make a door.

Still some work to go but I can almost smell the pizza and bread now!!

**telehort** · 02-04-2007, 04:05 PM

Re: Boccu's oven

Great looking oven Boccu!!!

**boccu** · 02-06-2007, 12:59 AM

How safe is it without draft door?

First fire - lasted about ten minutes before dying out. Lots of smoke, some of it even coming out of the chimney!

Unfortunately it was very windy and a lot of draught was created in the oven. After taking these pics I pushed the fire right to the back of the oven but I must admit I did get a bit worried about sparks being blown out of the oven and causing a major calamity in town!!

How safe is it really? Should there be a 'front door' that stops anything coming out but still allows air circulation? Any thoughts on this?

More pics to follow. I'll continue building (perhaps I'd better say "trying to build"??) bigger fires and then get the outer insulation and stucco on .....

B

**maver** · 02-06-2007, 04:30 AM

Re: Boccu's oven

Looks good, Boccu. I have a similar size oven. I have not had any worries about sparks, although when I first started curing I used some of the forms as my initial wood and that was pretty sparky stuff. With the fire pushed back to a side, little of this escapes the oven - that which does burns down before landing. With dry wood it barely sparks at all now and none of it escapes.

**CanuckJim** · 02-06-2007, 06:13 AM

Re: Boccu's oven

Boccu,

As usual, I think Maver's got it right. Burning lots of sappy softwood will produce sparks, though. You should try to use primarily seasoned woods, either semi-hard or hard, to keep the sparks down. A draft door definitely will help matters, plus give you a hotter fire faster. Jengineer did some drawings a while back, that he might be able to find. Over the last few weeks, I've been working with a very talented restoration blacksmith, Lloyd Johnston, to develop a combination oven/draft door. The Beta version is nearing completion, and I'll post pics of it when it arrives.

Cheers,
Jim

**jengineer** · 02-06-2007, 10:20 AM

Re: Boccu's oven

It is found in Oven Managemnt Forum, Heat Management subsection and finally here...
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f17/...ght=draft+door

Yes I will keep my day job as long as certain folks keep purchasing my product - I think I am out of a job in the middle of 2008

One of my favorite quotes from Jim so far makes reference to train buffs and a certain rock group "the draft door makes my chimney huff like the proverbial locomotive on steroids"

**boccu** · 02-07-2007, 01:51 PM

boy this thing smokes!

I'm well into firing up the oven now, but boy does it smoke! I gave up smoking myself almost a year ago now, but this oven sure is making up for any lost smoke!

Would this be because I am still using bits and pieces of wood found around the garage and garden? I am actually getting worried that the neighbors will soon start to complain! Should this improve once I begin to use seasoned firewood?? .....I read somewhere in this forum that the oven should hardly smoke at all once it reaches higher temperatures. I don't have a thermometer yet so I cannot say exactly how high I've gone so far but I don't think I have reached anything high yet - yesterday's firing took the first 'log' about 2.5" diameter by approx 10".

B

**CanuckJim** · 02-07-2007, 02:50 PM

Re: Boccu's oven

Boccu,

My oven has a different configuration from yours, but here's what happens when I fire up. For the first five minutes or so, I get "some" smoke while the kindling is catching. For kindling, I mostly used twigs and split cedar, a fair bit, then put on the draft door to get it really burning. When it's going well, I load on the wood, ordinarily well seasoned limb wood, both hard and semihard. Back on with the draft door. After ten minutes I get no smoke at all out of the chimney, just a rising column of hot air.

Your problem might be that your wood is wet, damp, very sappy or not seasoned well enough. Wood in the round takes longer to catch than split wood. Once you get up to the 4" diameter zone, it's best to split it then let it season.

Managing the fire takes a bit of time to learn. Don't worry, you'll get there.

Jim

**jengineer** · 02-07-2007, 03:06 PM

Re: Boccu's oven

To hit it with a bigger hammer

Let your wood season for 6 months before you use it. Stuff around the garden definately needs to be seasoned unless you are a total slacker like me - cut it down one month and cut it up a year later. In some locales the FB builders have been known to stuff in a load of wood into the oven after they are done baking and after the oven has cooled down a bit. This will dry out, to some extend some of the surface moisture that the wood may have. If you are talking about a 3 to 4 in ch round it will not dry it out.

As Jim pointed out sappy wood will smoke and pop quite a bit - stay away from massive ammounts of pine - i.e. since Christmas is over and that tree has been sitting in the backyard for a month now it probably is not a good idea to use it as your main source of fuel. In 6-8 months maybe use some for a starter but that is it.

**boccu** · 02-19-2007, 01:41 PM

pizza finally!

Got the fire up really hot yesterday and got my first pizzas out. Not yet a fully white oven, so they took a bit more than the prescribed 90 seconds .... but we ate them, they tasted pretty good .... and the oven still stands

... so it's all hand-made: the oven, the dough, the pizza base .... and yes even the pizza peel

bread should be my next step, so I'm off to make some more dough.

cheers
B

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