42 inch Michigan Oven

[jbruning]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

No pics today but I was able to finish the 8th course and got a few 'starter' bricks on course 9 done tonight. Gravity is creating more of a challenge now and will probably slow me down a little. One thing I am pretty certain of....I will never get a job where I am paid by the hour to lay bricks!

[Greenman]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

Join the club! But we can do quality work if we are left alone to do our thing. I have great respect for people who build big straight walls.

The dome is a smaller controlled environment. I found it a satisfying piece of work doing the slow, careful work on the dome. There is nothing shabby about your work. Some are green (like me) others are green with envy.

Enjoy the journey. Watching with interest.

[Bacterium]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

John,
apparently Winston Churchill laid bricks as a bit of a hobby.... he may not have been able to make a living out of it either but there are moments when you get "in the groove" when doing it and it's quite satisfying

[jbruning]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

Thanks Steve and Damon. It really is great fun. I too, find it satisfying and somewhat relaxing. It is interesting how some bricks seem to plop right in but there have been a few that I had to remove, scrape the mortar and retry several times.

[brickie in oz]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

Ive seen brickwork done on this forum by weekend warriors that would put some so called professionals to shame.

[jbruning]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

I've been able to get some work done in the evenings after work this week. Tonight I was able to get about 2/3 of the tenth course complete.

[boerwarrior]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

looks great! nice job avoiding vertical seams!

[boylanta]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

John,
Looks great.
Nice progress.
It's pretty satisfying to get a complete chain above the inner arch, isn't it?

You'll be lighting curing fires before you know it!

[jbruning]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

looks great! nice job avoiding vertical seams!

Thanks Neil. I am finding, however, that it is getting more difficult to keep the vertical joints from aligning. The upper courses are requiring more frequent 'adjustment' bricks to keep on bond. Most of my oven was cut during the winter months and assembled dry inside so I could maximize my spring build time. But as I was doing so, I realized that some cuts would have to be made as I constructed. This became more evident in the higher courses so I made a few extra 'blanks' for each course to provide a starting point for my adjusting bricks. So far, the pre-build IMHO, has saved me a lot of time during assembly, AND it allowed me to think through some of the more complex geometry issues early on so as to not get bogged down too much now.

[jbruning]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

John,
Looks great.
Nice progress.
It's pretty satisfying to get a complete chain above the inner arch, isn't it?

Yes, if you notice in my earlier photos, I avoided tying in the arch for a while as I placed the first few courses. It is nice to not have to deal with the more difficult cuts now and I was surprised and pleased at how well the course that cleared the arch ended up.

[boerwarrior]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

Thanks Neil. I am finding, however, that it is getting more difficult to keep the vertical joints from aligning. The upper courses are requiring more frequent 'adjustment' bricks to keep on bond. Most of my oven was cut during the winter months and assembled dry inside so I could maximize my spring build time. But as I was doing so, I realized that some cuts would have to be made as I constructed. This became more evident in the higher courses so I made a few extra 'blanks' for each course to provide a starting point for my adjusting bricks. So far, the pre-build IMHO, has saved me a lot of time during assembly, AND it allowed me to think through some of the more complex geometry issues early on so as to not get bogged down too much now.

For what it's worth, I did end up with quite a few close alignments (my brickwork is not nearly as good as yours!) - but now that I am making "full throttle" fires and I can see the cracks - what is interesting is that the cracks don't necessarily seem to follow the vertical seams! In fact my biggest crack (which at 1/8 inch is not too bad) follows a zigzag pattern in an area where I have some of the best brickwork! So I have come to the conclusion that cracks are to be expected and are somewhat random. With your quality brickwork I don't think you have to worry about some of your seams getting too close.

Take a look at the attached not very attractive brickwork. The temperature of the bricks you can see is close to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit - and there are almost no cracks (as seen from the outside) that follow the vertical alignments.

Neil

[jbruning]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

Take a look at the attached not very attractive brickwork. The temperature of the bricks you can see is close to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit - and there are almost no cracks (as seen from the outside) that follow the vertical alignments.

Neil

Actually, I think it looks very good. Don't sell yourself short.
And, you have fire!

[jbruning]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

Here's a couple of pics of my 'winter work' in the mock up stage.

[jbruning]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

Tonight's progress. Completed course 10 and started 11.

[jbruning]

Re: 42 inch Michigan Oven

Couple of photos of this weekend's progress. Finished courses 11 and 12. At least the courses are getting small enough to fit in the frame now.

I didn't get time to get pics last evening as a thunderstorm was moving in as I rushed to get the last few bricks in and I had to button things up rather quickly.