40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Setting the starting bricks for row 6. I found it handy to set one brick on the left side of the dome and then another on the right level with the other. I could then use those two to make sure I was nice and level as I was going around the dome.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

I also opted to make the bricks in each progressively higher row a little narrower than the previous. Once I got the jig set to minimize the upside down V, I would cut the width along the bottom edge equivalent to the width of the upper edge on the prior row. This worked fairly well with keeping the mortar lines roughly centered from course to course. I did find I had to tweak a bit here and there though because my mortar widths are somewhat inconsistent as I am most definitely NOT a pro at setting bricks!

[UtahBeehiver]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

From what I can see, the dome is looking nice, bricks are staggered well and very uniform.

[mongota]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

By the way if you have ever tried to trim 1/16" off the face of a brick with the wet saw you might discover that the blade wants to deflect off. Did you know you can put two blades onto the HF 10" wet saw?

When I've had to shave the edge of a porcelain tile on my wet saw, I have a short piece of dowel that I push against the side of the blade to prevent it from deflecting outward.

Sounds silly but it works like a champ.

[kbartman]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

40" diameter dome with bricks cut in half for 4.5" thick walls. I am really pushing it as big as possible in my corner so I had to cut into the drywall and trim some studs to give 3" clearance to the outside of the dome for insulation. The trimmed studs were reinforced with steel angle iron. The 40" diameter also doesn't give me much room for a landing/entrance so the dome arch is slightly compressed into the front of the oven by about 2"...

Tonyp,
It has been awhile since I posted anything. Just recently discover you build. and caught up on the discussions. You are doing some mighty fine looking brick work, and I have to say the mortar joints are looking perfect to me.. Doing a inside build takes some extra courage to tackle, looks like your doing your home work. Keep up the good work.

I do have a concern since you are building inside your home. You stated that you are very close too the minimum 3" insulation to your studs and had to remove drywall and trim wood studs. I too was very close to the minimum. I ended up about 3" of insulation between the lower portion of my brick dome and my studs. I used steel stud construction on my enclosure. I wish I would have had more room for insulation. When I fire for more then 4 to 6 hrs I get quite a noticeable temp rise on the outer stucco on my enclosure next to the steel studs. Having used steel studs gives a little comfort that it will not combusted if fired for longer periods. Don't want to alarm you but feel I have a obligation to state my concern. If it was me I think I consider removing the combustible studs and replace with something non combustible. Once the bricks are fully satuated you could reached 1000* F 3" inches from you wood studs

Your floor looks great, At times I've wondered if I should had a thicker floor than my 2 1/2" of brick. I installed thermocouple in three location on long my floor with a total of eleven in all around the oven. I monitor those during heat up a cooking. My experience has shown that is the floor is the first to become fully saturated with heat. I think you will like having the extra mass on the floor.

Look forward to following you're build.

[kbartman]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

PS,
I also was plagued with deflecting blades come to find out the blade discs were wearing on the sides do too table misalignment. Once that was solved I no longer had those issues.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

KB and Mongo thanks for the comments! Interesting solution Mongo on helping the blade cut true. KB I do notice there is a bit of play in the HF table, which doesn't surprise me considering the price. I also noticed that when making a cut that is narrower than the blade width it tends to round over the edges of the blade which just makes it want to deflect even more. Every once in a while I would take a really hard brick and make a cut to try and square up the edge. It seemed to help a bit.

I will admit I was concerned too about the proximity of combustible material. I was unsure if the ceramic blanket would offer enough insulation. Where the dome was closest to one of the studs I used the solid CaSi board and trimmed it on one side to contour around the oven until the point where it sloped inward enough to give sufficient clearance for 4 layers of the 1" thick blanket.

Anyone know how to calculate the outside temperature of CaSi board if the hot side is running around 1000 F?

Also good to hear your experience with the floor heating/saturation. Do you have any thermocouples in the dome at approximately the same distance from the inner surface (2.5") that would allow you to say for certain the heat is reaching the outside edge of the floor before halfway through the dome, assuming your dome is roughly 4 1/2" thick?

Tony

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Hmm was doing some research and think I am actually using AlSi ie ceramic board..which appears to be a little better than the CaSi for insulation properties.

[SteelandStone]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Dome is coming along nicely, there were more than a few days I wish I would have been building an indoor oven ie.. the really hot days or the rainy ones. , You should love that puppy in the winter, you can use it as partial heat for the house.

[kbartman]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

KB and Mongo thanks for the comments! Interesting solution Mongo on helping the blade cut true. KB I do notice there is a bit of play in the HF table, which doesn't surprise me considering the price. I also noticed that when making a cut that is narrower than the blade width it tends to round over the edges of the blade which just makes it want to deflect even more. Every once in a while I would take a really hard brick and make a cut to try and square up the edge. It seemed to help a bit.

I will admit I was concerned too about the proximity of combustible material. I was unsure if the ceramic blanket would offer enough insulation. Where the dome was closest to one of the studs I used the solid CaSi board and trimmed it on one side to contour around the oven until the point where it sloped inward enough to give sufficient clearance for 4 layers of the 1" thick blanket.

Anyone know how to calculate the outside temperature of CaSi board if the hot side is running around 1000 F?

Also good to hear your experience with the floor heating/saturation. Do you have any thermocouples in the dome at approximately the same distance from the inner surface (2.5") that would allow you to say for certain the heat is reaching the outside edge of the floor before halfway through the dome, assuming your dome is roughly 4 1/2" thick?

Tony

Tony,
I ended up buying the thicker blades approx. 1/8" made by Rigid at home depot they cut a lot better then the Kobalts thinner blade at Lowes and with less chance of deflection. Lot more of the brick ended up as wet dust but it was worth it. Do check you table travel it needs to travel very square to your blade otherwise it will wear out the blades prematurely. Evidences of a untrue table travel are black or gray saw mark left on cut faces.

As far as the heat reaching the outside bricks? Yes the heat will fully saturated a fully insulated brick oven. I have thermocouples on the outside faces of the brick dome as well as within 3/4" of the inside face of the dome. My floor becomes fully saturated first. It take some time for the dome bricks to fully saturate 4 to 6 hours depending how big the fire inside. A well insulated oven will match inside and outside temperature in do time. My thermocouples all read within a few degrees the next morning matching the inside temperature. Depending how many red coals were on the floor when the oven was closed up before bed time, what the temperature will end up in the am. Its not uncommon to see 700*F in the am. Keeping a fire stocked over several days I'm sure you could see 1000*F on the outside brick faces. Years ago a friend's mine's home caught fire from improper clearance's of a masonry fire place ............... Keep up the good brick work .........and please try to error on the side of safety.

[Greenman]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

I bought a 14" blade from America off Ebay for $50 and it is better than the original that the saw manufacturer in Aus could supply for $350.

The postage from US is a killer though and it cost me $65 to get it here. If I had some more confidence I would have bought multiple blades and cut the rate that way.

The more rigid blades do work better for the shaving work.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Definitely trying to err on the side of safety! Still haven't been able to figure out what the temperature on the stud side will be if the oven side is 1000 F. I have some microsil from Zircar ceramics. I might use that right where the oven is closest to the stud in one spot. I also won't be enclosing the oven until after it's up and running so I will have a good opportunity to monitor the temperatures.


Regarding blades, I've been using the Kobalt blade from Lowes. I also bought a Dewalt blade for brick. I have been using the Kobalt blade primarily, although when I was facing the floor bricks to size, I put both on the saw and it helped a great deal with deflection.

I am just about ready to start cutting bricks for the entrance way. I am still on the first Kobalt blade and have about 1/3 of the diamond matrix remaining... and I have made A LOT of cuts. So I can't complain about the longevity! I do tend to cut slowly so maybe that helps. I also modified the HF saw when I received it. I was not happy with the water flow and direction initially. I drilled out the holes a little larger to increase the flow, and readjusted the angle so they sprayed better on the blade.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Some more photos.. trying to catch up with posting the construction to where I am actually at currently!

Row 6 and then 7 with the arch form in place. I kind of flip flopped back and forth between adding to the arch and dome. I tried to plan as much ahead as possible but there is still quite a bit that I found just easier to deal with by designing as I went, such as the dome/arch brick transitions.

Row 7 if you look closely I also started putting the little horizontal grooves on the top and bottom faces ala GianniFocaccia. Although I didn't cut the sides like John. Guessing it helped as I was able to move the IT after letting the brick sit for a few minutes, even up near the top of the dome.

[Tonyp]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Dry fitting the rest of the arch bricks and how it will tie together to bring row 7 across the top.

Arch is in and setting first brick for row 8

Row 7 and wedges between row 7 and the top of arch are in as well as working around row 8 and starting 9.

[Greenman]

Re: 40" Indoor Pompeii in NNY

Looks good. Tidy.