Begining dome construction

[rlf5]

Re: Begining dome construction

A few more pictures of my dome and vent. I tried to recreate what the foam molds on the inside of the vent form looked like. Its pretty much what u see there....I drew in those black lines to show what I cut off. Also, instead of one circle form on top, i had 3. The base was also wider in the real mold.

[biondoli]

Re: Begining dome construction

Thanks Dusty for taking the time and do this, that will be very helful. Ciao Carlo

[rlf5]

Re: Begining dome construction

Carlo

I'll take some pictures of the form, and I'll try and recreate what the inside looked like (using some leftover foam) before I poured the cement in. The foam was basically in the shape of what other's steel vents looked like. That way once the cement has set and I removed the forms & mold, the inside would be hollow. On top of this cast vent I'll put the Duratech anchor plate, and my chimney pipe.

[biondoli]

Re: Begining dome construction

Dusty,
I was referring between row 5 and casting, I checked all your threads and not seen a picture of the "naked/installed" vent in order to understand how and what you casted. That was my question/curiosity....I know almost nothing on this subject so trying to read as much as I can in order build up my own plan, thanks Carlo

[rlf5]

Re: Begining dome construction

Daa.. What is a stainless needle? I assume they stengthen the cast(like rebar?), but.....

dusty

Its just a thin stainless steel rod used to provide strength to the cast. Without it, the risk for cracks goes up.

[rlf5]

Re: Begining dome construction

rlf5,
am I missing something? from the fifth row did you cast the vent? It would be nice to see all the steps to understand details and technique you used. Thanks Carlo

Which steps are you referring to? The part for casting the vent, or everything up to it? Also, I'm not sure if you think I finished the dome or not. I just finished the 5th course, and so I decided I'd cast my vent now so that it would have time to partially cure while I finish up the dome. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the inside of the mold before I poured the refractory cement in.

[dusty]

Re: Begining dome construction

Daa.. What is a stainless needle? I assume they stengthen the cast(like rebar?), but.....

dusty

[Acoma]

Re: Begining dome construction

Biondoli, Rlf5 has done an excellant job of documenting all the progress. It appears that you are becoming familiar with the forum, but to know where the beginnings of his work is, you need to go to his profile, then to threads that he started, then you will find the specific ones which he did to progress to this point. Rlf5 has merely used different threads to continue progress, some use the same thread. I hope this helps you.

[biondoli]

Re: Begining dome construction

rlf5,
am I missing something? from the fifth row did you cast the vent? It would be nice to see all the steps to understand details and technique you used. Thanks Carlo

[rlf5]

Re: Begining dome construction

Well I cast my vent today. I ended up using a bag and a half of KS-4 to do it...plus about 1.5 lbs of stainless needles in the mix. I used styrofoam covered in saran wrap to form the inside of the vent. Its basically a big trapezoid with an 8 inch OD section coming out of the top. Only the latter section is visible in the pictures. I won't be able to cure it in my kitchen oven of course, so I'll have to be real careful with my curing fires once I finish the dome.

[Acoma]

Re: Begining dome construction

Ken, if that's the case, you know where to nominate, and to add me to that vote.

[Ken524]

Re: Begining dome construction

You most likely need cuts like this

That one gets my nomination for "Most complex cut of the month" award. Do you cut diamonds in your spare time??

[Les]

Re: Begining dome construction

I hear ya...im there myself. trying to imagine the piece that should fit, is like a real life game of 3D Tetris.

I think it's a little harder thanTetris. You most likely need cuts like this

Les...

[rlf5]

Re: Begining dome construction

Yea the fifth sucks too b/c the mortar gaps have gone from a rectangle plane, to a triangle one. I took about 3 bricks before I realized what was happening. Needless to say I had to do some patchwork with the three I had laid b/c they were a bit off, and each one made things worse.

[Kemo]

Re: Begining dome construction

Finished the third course, and started the fourth. The fourth is going to have to tie into the arch, so this should be interesting.

I hear ya...im there myself. trying to imagine the piece that should fit, is like a real life game of 3D Tetris.