Hendo Gauge / IT

[K79]

So i'm wondering if I drilled a hole in the center of my oven floor in one of the firebricks and glued a ball and socket into it for my indispensable tool, how tight will the bricks be once the dome is completed. Will I be able to pull out the center brick and replace it with one that has no hole in it?

[SCChris]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

I think you could, but I don't know that it would be worth the effort. The advantage of going the route you're exploring is that the pivot point is almost at the floor. This will bring the roof down by what ever distance you gain over what you might have done, and this distance is negligible with respect to the quality of the build and the functionality of the build. An advantage of using something like 1/2 plywood is you have some protection on the floor of the oven so the cleanup is easier than a bare floor and it's hardier than construction paper.

JMO

Chris

[david s]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

So i'm wondering if I drilled a hole in the center of my oven floor in one of the firebricks and glued a ball and socket into it for my indispensable tool, how tight will the bricks be once the dome is completed. Will I be able to pull out the center brick and replace it with one that has no hole in it?

Just fill the hole with some mortar.

[deejayoh]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

Two thoughts
1) yes, you will likely be able to pull the brick. It's not hard - but it does mess up your leveling layer a bit. Wet sand + fireclay forms a paste makets it tricky to get a brick exactly the same level later. Doable with effort, in my experience (I had to pull a couple bricks that somehow chipped during construction)
2) rather than drilling into a brick, I would suggest using a piece of wood (in place of the brick) that is slightly lower than floor, so that - to Chris' point - you can have your pivot right at, or slightly below floor level

[Gulf]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

I made a "wood brick" replacement, much like DJ is recomending. I made it to the best of my ability to the size of the floor brick. I cut the dummy brick from plywood sandwiched together. Mostly 3/4" and what ever thickness of stock that I had available to get it to floor height. (I keep a lot of scraps around the shop ) I did not have a problem removing it, and replacing it, with the actual brick. It may have been cut to the "width of a pencil" mark larger than the actual brick. My eyes ain't what they used to be . But, even if it was a hair larger, that area has since filled with ash.

[deejayoh]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

^^^
Gulf thinks of all the tricks. Note the use of a turnbuckle as well.

[K79]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

Gulf excellent idea !! I thought of using the turnbuckle too after a project I just finished this year. We just finished working on a 100 year old suspension foot bridge and the turnbuckles we used were 3 feet long for the wind cables

Where did you get or what did you use for your pivoting base?

[Gulf]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

Where did you get or what did you use for your pivoting base?

Thank's DJ and K79,

I used a pivot from an old discarded commercial door closer. It had a threaded adjustment rod that fit one end of the turnbuckle which I got from Ace Hardware.
Here is just a little more about it on my build post #3.

[nissanneill]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

K79,
why not drill your brick and when finished, simply remove your tool and turn the brick over! Same brick, same thickness and a level floor.
I would protect the floor with a thin sheet of cardboard, (can be folded over to remove easily).

Neill

[K79]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

Great ideas. I'm having a real problem trying to find a pivoting base for my IT. Home Depot or Lowes don't carry anything like this. Any help would be greatly appreciated !!

thanks all.

[SCChris]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

Here is what I did, I took a swivel caster removed the wheel and replaced it with a swing arm the correct length and a small through bold at the caster holding the swing arm.. In your case the arm to the brick stop will be about 20". The swing arm could be a wood dowel or aluminum or whatever will work for you. I'm indicating a Lowes item, but any hardware store will have a selection of these sorts of things.

Waxman 1-1/4" Plastic Swivel Casters
Lowes Item #: 66941 | Model #: 4265499NN

Look at Post 25
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/8/sc...ld-7035-3.html

Sincerely

Chris

[K79]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

Here is what I did, I took a swivel caster removed the wheel and replaced it with a swing arm the correct length and a small through bold at the caster holding the swing arm.. In your case the arm to the brick stop will be about 20". The swing arm could be a wood dowel or aluminum or whatever will work for you. I'm indicating a Lowes item, but any hardware store will have a selection of these sorts of things.

Waxman 1-1/4" Plastic Swivel Casters
Lowes Item #: 66941 | Model #: 4265499NN

Look at Post 25
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/8/sc...ld-7035-3.html

Sincerely

Chris

Thanks so much. How would you attach the swing arm if it was a threaded metal rod or dowel. Maybe I should just go to Lowes and get my hands on the Swivel Caster to get a better idea. I notice that a lot of people talk about adjusting the swing arm as you go to make up for the pivot not being directly at the floor level. Just wondering really how crucial this is. A 40" oven will only have the swing arm shorten by the time your done by about a half inch. This seems like it's not that big of a deal to keep the arm length the same throughout. Is it?

[nissanneill]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

K79,
there are a couple of options that other members have used which are inexpensive and do the job.
One that I can't immediately find the thread, used a hinge, the old type that was used on a gate with a ling tapered wing that a rod was attatched to and the other hinge side screwed loosly to the pivot point.
Another is ad I found in the search for the indispensable tool.

Cheers,

Neill

[SCChris]

Re: Hendo Gauge / IT

I didn't shorten the arm, it was the same throughout the build and to attach the rod I just drilled a hole near enough to the end that the arm didn't bind.. I fastened a short piece of angle iron to limit the bricks distance from the pivot point again I just drilled the rod and L and bolted them together. I found that the angle iron, the L metal, didn't need to be very big and in fact a bigger L dislodged the brick rather than supporting the brick, to just set, and then easily sliding freely away. It's a bit difficult to describe this without some first hand experience. Anyway, the Hendo, the IT, is a very simple but elegant device. If you build it, it will work.

Chris