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Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

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  • Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

    After a lot of reading and lots of very kind people answering questions I feel I'm about ready to start. I have insulation coming next week (4" cal sil board) and I've built my base and poured my concrete top. Both are completely new activities to me - but so far so good.


    I actually started the base from the Alan Watts book which suggests angle irons above the third layer. He uses it to build a large heat inc with decomposed granite but after reading this forum I decided against that. But the angle irons proved to be very useful for putting wood across to support the cement board when it came to pour. There was no need to build any internal forms and it makes the whole things a bit more rigid which was useful. If I had to do it again I think I'd keep that. (see pic)

    My version of the Tool involved routing out the middle of two pieces of wood and putting in a long threaded rod and two hex nuts (see pic below). This hopefully will allow me to make fine adjustments as I go. I'm mounting this on a caster base and the height will change as it rotates upwards. My guess is that all I really need to worry about is that the edges of the bricks line up on the bottom. I still don't really understand how to use the tool for figuring out the cuts to make on the inner arch but I'm going to build the arch as I go so hopefully that will make more sense as it progresses. I can see the general principle but it's not clear to me how I can draw my cuts on it based on the tool . I'll keep looking at the pictures but any help would be appreciated.

    I also bought a pile of H.C Muddox firebricks today, some fireclay, lime cement and 60# sand. I also purchased a 10" brick saw from HF. There was a coupon on the website that brought this down to $220. This seems to be working great but it's not large enough to taper the archway bricks in at 4.5 inches high so I'll try using my mitre saw with a 12" blade for that. Again I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

    I'm creating a hemispherical arch so I created a form for that based on lots of people's kind suggestions. Because I'm not very straight with a jigsaw I added a layer of Vinyl to smooth out the bumps and because this only came in enormous sheets it proved a useful thing to make my template out of for the base. I'll use this to lay out the floor bricks tomorrow for the herringbone pattern. The Muddox bricks are wobbly round the edges but they still seem to knit together ok.

    Anyway. It's a start.

  • #2
    Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

    Looks like you are off to a fine start. It's onward and upwards from there.

    I hope it goes well for you, it seems that you are organised and that brings its own rewards.
    Cheers ......... Steve

    Build Thread http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f3/n...erg-19151.html

    Build Pics http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1&l=1626b3f4f4

    Forno Food Pics https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=1d5ce2a275

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    • #3
      Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

      Well there are still lots of areas I'm very uncertain of. I've never laid a brick in my life - let alone cut one. But I'm encouraged but the forum and the fact that the rest has gone ok so far.

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      • #4
        Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

        Hello Kallipigous

        I think this is the link to Mr. Chipster's brick cutting fixture.
        It makes cutting bricks a breeze.

        http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f28/...ble-16780.html

        David

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        • #5
          Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

          Thank you. I was just studying that with the pompei dome calculator. I think I understand how it works. I'm not sure how I'd figure out the vertical cut angle but deejayoh's spreadsheet seems to work well . I guess I'll just have to sacrifice some bricks and experiment.

          I now need to figure out the entry arch cuts. Seems that if I cut all the arch bricks the size for the top centre brick I can shave them down as it goes further down the course. I'll make a form tomorrow and experiment.

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          • #6
            Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

            Creating the Jig was what made the biggest difference for me. My goal was mortarless on the inside of the oven. With this jig a novice like myself who also had never cut a brick before could easily become what appeared to be a pro.

            The inside of the oven is your masterpiece and worth the effort in the end. That is only my opinion.

            Finally I used my iphone level to determine the degree of cut laid out in the spreadsheet. It all came together then. Ultimately a bit of custom cutting will be used in many cases but once you understand the angles it becomes much easier to make an adjustment cut to get it to fit.

            Cheers
            Darin I often cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food... WC Fields Link to my build http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/4...-ca-20497.html My Picasa Pics https://picasaweb.google.com/1121076...eat=directlink

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            • #7
              Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

              How do you determine what the vertical angle should be when cutting on the jig? - other than using the spreadsheet that is.

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              • #8
                Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

                Ok so today we cut and laid out the floor. Cutting turned out to be relatively easy until you need to cut a notch in a brick. It hadn't occurred to me how difficult this would be with a circular blade. So I ended up having to use the angle grinder with a diamond blade. It works but it's very difficult to cut at the right angle I found. Ideally you could use a jigsaw with a diamond blade as it would cut vertically but I don't think there are any long enough. Are there any tricks for doing this better with an angle grinder?

                Cheers

                Toby

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                • #9
                  Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

                  If you are using a wet saw there is a level of 'freehand' cutting that you can do if you take some care. There is also a some latitude available with some cuts. Gaps on the hearth will fill with ash and some forgiveness is there to be had.

                  It is fine to aim for minimum tolerances in joints but absolute precision is not essential.
                  Cheers ......... Steve

                  Build Thread http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f3/n...erg-19151.html

                  Build Pics http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...1&l=1626b3f4f4

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                  • #10
                    Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

                    Hello Kallipigous

                    On the side angle (the angle that changes with each chain) I would check a few bricks on the next chain to see how much I needed to increase the angle.
                    It worked out well for me.

                    On the higher chains you may need to trim the bottom of the brick if you want to minimize the mortar joint.

                    David

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                    • #11
                      Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

                      Is the angle effectively half of the inverted v angle? That's all I could think.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

                        Hello Kallipigous

                        I tended to go with the Adjust and Cut method. If I needed more angle I made a small adjustment and if I had gone too far I saved the brick for the next chain.
                        Not very scientific but it worked for me.

                        David

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                        • #13
                          Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

                          I never used a jig so much. I just used little cut off shims of brick to make all my angels. I wish I could have figured out the dome spree sheet but chose to just wing it and cut to fit. It worked pretty good and for me was less thinking.

                          Randy

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                          • #14
                            Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

                            This is what I ended up with.

                            Randy

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                            • #15
                              Re: Build started on 36" Pompeii in Socal

                              Well we've managed to do 4 layers now. It's working though I slightly screwed up the angle on the last row so there's a slight inverted v but it's a low one so it's easily filled. I'm really finding join the arch with the dome tricky. They all seem to meet at very odd angles but I'll have another crack tomorrow and post some pictures.

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