Originally posted by hubert_s
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Hubert,
You only need to make part of the face clean, the rest is covered by the mortar joint or your vent arch. Here is a set up I used for cutting the arch bricks and mine were 6" wide on a 10" saw, so had to cut from both ways, you can also hand feather the rough spots with your saw. Left over wedges from the dome cuts on the right side, left over straight cut in the left side to hold the brick solid while cutting.
I know you are using a better saw than to old cheapo HF so doesn't your cutting head rotate up and down to give you more height?1 Photo
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
I figured out how to taper the bricks. I have to cut a 1/4" off the width and one inch off the length to avoid running into the blade guard. Still the cuts do not finish very cleanly and leave a lot of work for the angle grinder. I will try the tapered bricks.
I made a new arch form and took stonecutter's advice to leave more room to drop the form out. I figured if an inch is good, 2 1/4 inch is better and added a couple 2x4s at the bottom for stability, leaving 1/2" for the OSB floor and 1/4" for shims to level it.
I'm heading out to Chapin and hope to make some progress on the arch today.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Originally posted by UtahBeehiver View PostHubert,
You can always taper your arch brick to reduce the mortar gap. Look up the "Anglizer" under General tools and they have a software program that can help you size brick taper for an arch.
General Tools and Instruments
If anybody has any suggestion how to cut the tapers I would really appreciate it. I may try to tilt the brick instead of the saw blade by cutting a 4x4 on the table saw at the correct angle.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Hubert,
You can always taper your arch brick to reduce the mortar gap. Look up the "Anglizer" under General tools and they have a software program that can help you size brick taper for an arch.
General Tools and Instruments1 Photo
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Originally posted by hubert_s View PostI will take a look tomorrow morning, it may only be in the area where I had the soupy mix.
The mason who did all the block work and stucco on the house came by yesterday and looked at the oven. He was pretty impressed with it and did not see any problems with the mortar joints.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Originally posted by UtahBeehiver View PostBrick work is looking nice. I just commented on another build about making sure you have a "release" gap on you arch form. If you don't you may not get the form out without damaging your brickwork. Tip, save your form so you have a template for your oven door.
That's the way to do it...done on large scale vaults and bridges too.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Originally posted by UtahBeehiver View PostBrick work is looking nice. I just commented on another build about making sure you have a "release" gap on you arch form. If you don't you may not get the form out without damaging your brickwork. Tip, save your form so you have a template for your oven door.
I did not have much time to work on the oven yesterday. The sheetrock guys wanted to hang the ceiling and I realized that there was nothing for me to fasten the enclosure walls to up top. I put in a bunch of 2x4s between the rafters.
My arch is giving me some headaches. I took a shortcut the other day and installed a brick that I knew was cut a little too short thinking it will be hidden and nobody will ever see it. Now I am looking at a 1/2" or so mortar joint. I also mocked up the arch with shims and the mortar joints get really big towards the top where the bricks angle away from each other, probably a little over 3/4". I am wondering what to do at this point. Do I cut out the brick that was cut wrong, and if so, what is the best way to remove it? Should I insert shims into the mortar joints to reduce the size? Or can I cut down the arch bricks to 3" to reduce the size of joints?
I won't be working on the oven today, so I have some time to think about it. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Brick work is looking nice. I just commented on another build about making sure you have a "release" gap on you arch form. If you don't you may not get the form out without damaging your brickwork. Tip, save your form so you have a template for your oven door.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Originally posted by stonecutter View PostYeah I'm serious. C'mon, man...we're talking about a small batch of mortar for a couple courses! If you are going slow, and not mixing overly long...great
Unless I missed it, you didn't mention that you are using white Portland...so color is not an indicator..but excessive shrink cracking this early is an indicator that you have too much water in the mix and/or you need to adjust your sand.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Yeah I'm serious. C'mon, man...we're talking about a small batch of mortar for a couple courses! If you are going slow, and not mixing overly long...great
Unless I missed it, you didn't mention that you are using white Portland...so color is not an indicator..but excessive shrink cracking this early is an indicator that you have too much water in the mix and/or you need to adjust your sand.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Originally posted by stonecutter View PostGauging is measuring each component to keep a consistent mix design. So, it seems that's what you are doing. Even volumetric gauging a mix will produce variance in the mix...more air here, a consolidated measure there....and effect the quality of the mortar. That said, the differences are minor, as is the impact on structural integrity of the oven itself.
Your mortar drying white tells me you are adding too much water, and possibly over mixing it. Use the paint mixer on paint....mix the mortar by hand. Also, Blending some course sand in with the fine sand will combat the shrink cracking too.
Are you serious about mixing by hand? I honestly cannot see myself doing that. I am sore enough as it is. I'll try to be more gentle with it. I am using a low rpm drill and don't think I mix it overly long.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Originally posted by hubert_s View PostNot sure what you mean by gauging. I measure by volume and then mix with a paint mixer, slowly adding water until it has a workable consistency. I had mixed up one batch that was a bit soupy and used it in the area where the cracks are. The sand is really sharp and pretty fine. The mortar does not seem to be drying very fast at all. The left over mortar dries to a white color and even the first joints have not turned white and still look wet.
Is this going to be a problem and if so, how do I fix it?
Your mortar drying white tells me you are adding too much water, and possibly over mixing it. Use the paint mixer on paint....mix the mortar by hand. Also, Blending some course sand in with the fine sand will combat the shrink cracking too.
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Originally posted by stonecutter View PostAre you gauging each component? Clay and Portland shrink when they dry. What's your sand like? Sharp? Fine? Rounded?
You may be adding too much water to the mix, or it's drying too fast.
Is this going to be a problem and if so, how do I fix it?
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Re: 36" in Chapin, SC
Are you gauging each component? Clay and Portland shrink when they dry. What's your sand like? Sharp? Fine? Rounded?
You may be adding too much water to the mix, or it's drying too fast.
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