It's time to go Vertical

[RCLake]

I've finished with the stand and hearth and was laying out the floor today so I've decided to move up to the big kids site. Also received my insulation board today so I'm happy.
I'll have a lot of issues hooking the dome to the doorway so I'm starting to do a lot more research of prior postings. But I do have a couple of questions.

1) I will put my soldier course on top of the firebrick and I'm planning on cutting them in half, not as a rectangle but with a 13 degree angle. This way the next level will be flush. The top of the inside of this brick will be 21.5" away from the floor center - with a 20" height planned, it seems to me that I'll need to bring each level in 1/8" (assuming 12 levels). Does this make sense?
2) What distance from the door to the front of the vent? Before I cut my insulation board and floor I need to figure out this distance. I'm thinking from inside of the door I have 4.5" for that arch, but then I'm confused. I've seen vent opening from 4.5-6" and then another 6-7".

[dmun]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

1) Your plan for the soldier course sounds good. Since your dome is less than half the height of the diameter of the oven, if I read right, you'll need a steeper slope at some point, hence the thirteen degree angle. You won't need that much angle on succeeding courses.

2) I think the exact width of the slot for your flue is not particuarly important. I think the area of the opening should be larger than the square inch measurement of your flue, ideally twice as large. I know it's not conventional, but I built the back of my "flue funnel" right on top of the dome over the doorway, because I was pressed for width. It made for some fancy brick cutting, but most of them do anyway, or the use of gobs of mortar. Remember that your dome goes in as it goes up, you don't need the full width of whatever you decide as the width between the edge of the door, and the flue opening from the edge of the circle.

Planning helps, but it also helps to lay out this stuff on the floor and actually push the bricks around.

[gjbingham]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

The answers seem to be slightly different depending on whether you use an angle iron or a brick arch for your oven/entryway transition. If you use an iron, that pushes your vent outward from the dome; at least it did in my case.

Here's a discussion of numbers for the vent floor that I asked awhile back:
http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f6/h...size-2803.html

Hope that helps a bit.
George

[RCLake]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

1)
Planning helps, but it also helps to lay out this stuff on the floor and actually push the bricks around.

I have already figured that out, it makes a huge difference placing the bricks down and seeing what issues need to be addressed.
I just made my first firebrick cut. I put a 12" masonry blade on my miter saw and after soaking a brick all night, I cut it in half. Has anyone else used their miter saw as a chop saw? I can see I'll generate a lot of fireclay this way.

[dmun]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

Has anyone else used their miter saw as a chop saw? I can see I'll generate a lot of fireclay this way.

BE SURE to use breathing protection when dry-cutting.

[asudavew]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

I have already figured that out, it makes a huge difference placing the bricks down and seeing what issues need to be addressed.
I just made my first firebrick cut. I put a 12" masonry blade on my miter saw and after soaking a brick all night, I cut it in half. Has anyone else used their miter saw as a chop saw? I can see I'll generate a lot of fireclay this way.

I did my floor bricks this way.
I should of done them all this way, but I got tired of the mess and noise.
I used eye protection and a mask for breathing.
I found it best to cut them dry. When I soaked the bricks, the blade would deflect, and the cut wouldn't be straight. The blade would bend outwards the further down the brick I went.

[RCLake]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

I did my floor bricks this way.

I found it best to cut them dry. When I soaked the bricks, the blade would deflect, and the cut wouldn't be straight. The blade would bend outwards the further down the brick I went.

I will try cutting them dry tomorrow, I figured that would be real dusty and I am wearing a 3M respirator. I started using masks with my table saw and these are breathable so not a nuisance at all

[Les]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

RC,

You should consider purchasing the Harbor Freight saw - at the end of the day, I'm sure you will be glad that you did. After the completion of the project, you could probably sell it for half of what you paid.

Just a thought,

Les...

[asudavew]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

RC,

You should consider purchasing the Harbor Freight saw - at the end of the day, I'm sure you will be glad that you did. After the completion of the project, you could probably sell it for half of what you paid.

Just a thought,

Les...

If I had only one do over on my project..........

I would have purchased the HF saw.


Hindsight....

[dmun]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

You should consider purchasing the Harbor Freight saw - at the end of the day, I'm sure you will be glad that you did. After the completion of the project, you could probably sell it for half of what you paid.

And still have a set of spindle bearings on your miter saw, as well. That dust isn't only in your lungs. Good work on the 3M respirator, btw. Much better (and less stinky) than those paper things.

[RCLake]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

As usual I'm getting ahead of myself, but couldn't pass up on this opportunity. A friend was clearing his lot and offered this wood. Other than the last 5 logs he had even cut the load. I'll guess I get him a bottle of scotch.

[RCLake]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

Well I spent time today cutting my floor. I'll be replacing all of the interior floor bricks with better ones - when the strap of 75 was loaded into my pickup the guy laid the stack down. Did I say lay, more like dropped it over, so I'll use those elsewhere.
I originally did the front landing 25" wide assuming I would have the side walls on the 2.5" edge. Once I uploaded it onto the computer it didn't seem right so I made the landing 29" wide so the 4.5" edge would be on the floor like the third picture. I noticed in the ebook, fig.8.1 had it one way and fig 8.2 another. With the weight overhead I like the wider approach.

[RCLake]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

Enjoying a cold one and thinking how I will connect the arch/vent to the dome, well at least the first row. I've seen a lot of WFO with the 4.5" arch built into the dome and then the vent is added later, easily incorporating a reveal. This does create a long vertical seam at the arch and as I understand it a weaker spot. Has anyone had any problems at this spot?

I searched the photo gallery and say that RTFlorida overlapped the bricks from the arch to the vent. I couldn't tell if a reveal was built in(see photo), if so, how. I'm guessing you could cut/notch the bricks after the arch to 4".

Advice/Experience would greatly be appreciated.

[RTflorida]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

RC,
That is exactly what I did...cut the bricks to 4" (actually 3 3/4" - my bricks all seemed to be in the 4 1/4" to 4 3/8" range in width) to allow the 1/2" reveal for the door.
There may be another way, but this seemed pretty straightforward and simple to do.

[RCLake]

Re: It's time to go Vertical

Hurray,
I can see cutting off 1/2" to adapt it. But this is a thing in process for me and just trying to visualize.