Begining dome construction

[gjbingham]

Re: Begining dome construction

I tried my hardest to avoid the joints lining up as well. I made custom cuts wherever possible but the higher I got, the distances between joints gets smaller and smaller. I ended up inspecting the previous two rows then marking any spots that had joints aligned or really close. That is were I'd start my next row, making sure that I didn't make them align 3 courses in a row.
George

[Acoma]

Re: Begining dome construction

Try dry runs with bricks for each row. None of us have the perfect formula. Many starting with 1/2's, going to 1/3's, then 1/4's as the dome gets built. Mixing them if necessary. This is just a suggestion. Don't get discouraged.

[asudavew]

Re: Begining dome construction

Thanks! I'm trying to get finished with everything before the end of the month, which is going to be a challenge. The wife wants me to be able to use the oven for our Christmas party. So I have about three weeks to try and at least get to a working dome. I surely won't have an enclosure by then. I also need to account for a week of curing.

Don't forget learning curve for building fires, and getting up to pizza temps.

It's challenging too!! Well at least it is for me....

Looking Good Rlf
Keep it up!

[rlf5]

Re: Begining dome construction

Try dry runs with bricks for each row. None of us have the perfect formula. Many starting with 1/2's, going to 1/3's, then 1/4's as the dome gets built. Mixing them if necessary. This is just a suggestion. Don't get discouraged.

Thanks for the tip. I had been adjusting mortar gaps to ensure the joints didn't line up, but brick spacers makes a lot more sense...duh!

[rlf5]

Re: Begining dome construction

Don't forget learning curve for building fires, and getting up to pizza temps.

It's challenging too!! Well at least it is for me....

Looking Good Rlf
Keep it up!

Well I won't be making pizzas for the party thats for sure! I never feel comfortable trying something for the first time with guests around. I'd mainly just like to be able to show the 'completed' oven off and also bake some bread.

[Dutchoven]

Re: Begining dome construction

Mixing sizes of bricks is great advice...starting and finishing each course with a slightly larger or smaller brick makes good sense...same as in a conventional wall...look at some of the bonding patterns used in bricklaying and you will get some great ideas...kens oven has some good examples
Best
Dutch

[rlf5]

Re: Begining dome construction

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

[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.

[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.

[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...

[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??

[Acoma]

Re: Begining dome construction

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

[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.

[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

[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.