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  • #16
    Re: dusty dome is done!

    Dusty,
    Good question about the electric heater. I figuring that only the work done on the keystone needs a week of curing, which would be New Years Day. Presumably, the keystone didn't really have much of a mortar joint anyway, so even if you weakened it a bit by getting it warm too early, the keystone is not going to fail, and fall to the floor.

    The previous rows were done prior to that, so need that many fewer days before you can light a fire or use a heater. Most of the work has already had a week to cure, so for the most part, you're pretty safe with the electric heater.

    I waited six days and then used electric heat. It only got to 120ish degrees in there, which is not a hell of a lot hotter than the occasional Sicilian and Southern Italian summer days. Somehow, their oven work survived the temperature extremes, so I figure that mine was pretty safe.

    A couple of days with the heater made absolutely no difference in the mortar joints that I could see. My soldier and first three courses still showed moisture lines on the cladding, even after the first four or five curing fires. I covered the dome with insulation before I ever saw them disappear. Here's a pic from prior to curing: http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/atta...gress-fb29.jpg

    I was worried about freezing temps and wet mortar and so used the heater. If that is not a concern for you, the heater is probably a waste of time, though it may help minimize the thermal shock to the mortar joints by running it for an hour or two prior to doing your curing fires. I can't imagine that going from 40 degrees to 300 degrees in a matter of minutes does anything good for the mortar joints. 120 to 300 just might be a bit easier on them.

    If you get a few days of clear skies after the 1st, it might be worthwhile to get out there and get curing. Otherwise, you're probably very safe in waiting till Spring.

    at least that's my take on it.....
    George
    GJBingham
    -----------------------------------
    Everyone makes mistakes. The trick is to make mistakes when nobody is looking.

    -

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: dusty dome is done!

      Dusty,

      You are relentless! Stealing away on Christmas to cap the dome? and now the arch (which looks way cool by the way). My keystone ceremony was just me and my wife but still the milestone moment, one where you no longer measure your worth by how many courses (or parts of a course) you were able to get done in a particular session. I have actually taken the last couple weeks off from the project, as I wait for my new theromcouples to arrive (replacements for the ones I misordered). Then it's insulation and curing fires.

      Congrats on your oven, it looks great. Can we get your photographer to take some inside shots?

      Jim

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: dusty dome is done!

        Finished the special keystone today. My blade finally wore out halfwat through the first cut on the river rock. Ran to HF, bought a new one and WA LA!

        Here's the before and the after.

        dusty

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: dusty dome is done!

          Originally posted by jcg31 View Post
          Dusty,

          Can we get your photographer to take some inside shots?

          Jim
          Thanks Jim. And the inside shots are coming. I will have to remove my arch form first. Maybe in a day or three.

          dusty

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: dusty dome is done!

            Originally posted by gjbingham View Post
            Dusty,
            Here's a pic from prior to curing: http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/atta...gress-fb29.jpg
            George

            George, I was laughing when I saw the prior to curing pic. Forget the smooth cladding, go mountain terrain style. Maybe a ski chair leading to the top, some people jumping on the bumps
            An excellent pizza is shared with the ones you love!

            Acoma's Tuscan:
            http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/a...scan-2862.html

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: dusty dome is done!

              Thanks for your input Goerge. I agree with you. Plus, my mortar joints are very small. Few are larger than 1/8" and most are smaller than that. The lower 3/4 of my oven LOOKS dry - that is the bricks are dry and the mortar is light grey. the top looks dry on the outside but the mortar on the inside is still a bit darker in color. I plan to figure out a way to start curing it this weekend. Meanwhile, I need to decide what to do for a chimney.

              Jim,
              Do you plan to insulate before you cure?

              dusty

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: dusty dome is done!

                Hey Dustman!

                Great looking Keystone!

                Dave is slightly jealous.

                But happy for you!

                So how are you going to celebrate the New Year?
                My thread:
                http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/d...ress-2476.html
                My costs:
                http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?k...Xr0fvgxuh4s7Hw
                My pics:
                http://picasaweb.google.com/dawatsonator

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: dusty dome is done!

                  Good to hear from you Big Dave... and thanks for the kudos. Much appriciated. Glad to be done. Looking forward to borrowing a few of those reciepies and tecniques from you soon.

                  Looks like the party, if you can call it that, is at the Cabana club ( hokie li' swim and tennis club in our neighborhood). Probably be about 10 - 15 of us sitting around the fire pit tellin' lies and stuff. Bought the celebratory pack of the good stuff, PBR's, since it is a special occasion. At midnight, we set off a couple of model rockets packed with explosives and then off to bed. Kinda slowin' down a bit in my old age, but haven't completely stopped yet!

                  I suppose you're firing up the badWoFo right now. Have an ice cold one for me and Happy New Year to you and your family.

                  dusty

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: dusty dome is done!

                    Originally posted by dusty View Post
                    Jim,
                    Do you plan to insulate before you cure?

                    dusty
                    Yeah, I have been back and forth on that a bunch to the point of procrastinating. I decided to take Ken's lead, found 100 sqft of Kaowool 1", 8 density, blanket in Milwaukee for $130. So my plan (unless someone here has some better thoughts) is to get my thermocouples in place, wrap it in the blanket, tie down with thin wire anchored to the vermicucrete (that will be easy to remove). Go through the curing fires and when I think all is cured, remove the blanket to inspect the cladding for cracks. Now, I say that having zero experience with handling kaowool pre or post heat applied. But in asking the supplier he thought it would go back in place after inspection with little difficulty and in the same fashion as first applied.

                    Jim

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: dusty dome is done!

                      Originally posted by Acoma View Post
                      George, I was laughing when I saw the prior to curing pic. Forget the smooth cladding, go mountain terrain style. Maybe a ski chair leading to the top, some people jumping on the bumps

                      yeah, we were laying it on thick, not believing that those bricks were going to stay up there without a little extra goo.

                      Cool keystone Dusty. I hope you dispatched a salmon with it (bonk on the head) prior to setting it.
                      G.
                      GJBingham
                      -----------------------------------
                      Everyone makes mistakes. The trick is to make mistakes when nobody is looking.

                      -

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: dusty dome is done!

                        Still a little early to know for sure, but I think it is going to be a great year!

                        dusty

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: dusty dome is done!

                          Dusty, you cleaned the inside of the dome very well. Well, now you will hopefully have no issues with cracks, just good cures, then insulate. Good luck.
                          Robert
                          An excellent pizza is shared with the ones you love!

                          Acoma's Tuscan:
                          http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/a...scan-2862.html

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: dusty dome is done!

                            Originally posted by Acoma View Post
                            Well, now you will hopefully have no issues with cracks Good luck.
                            Thanks Robert. Today's fire, the first, was very small and brief - almost seemed like it didn't do anything. When I stuck my hand in there, it was hot, but it was the kind of hot that you would get from sticking your hand next to any fire. Half an hour after the fire went out, the top of the dome wasn't even warm inside. I will let tomorrow's fire burn a bit longer and so on.

                            Batten down the hatches and stay safe this weekend. From what I'm hearing you may have to go outside and shake a bunch of snow off of that tent. This one is supposed to be packing quite a punch.

                            dusty

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: dusty dome is done!

                              Awesome work, Dusty,
                              That brickwork from inside is beautiful! Here's a pat on your back from the NW (pat, pat)!

                              I love that little fire. It's gonna be many more of those before your cooking, but it's fun to see, huh?
                              G.
                              GJBingham
                              -----------------------------------
                              Everyone makes mistakes. The trick is to make mistakes when nobody is looking.

                              -

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: dusty dome is done!

                                Dusty, be sure you have some type of device to tell you internal temp. There are reasons they say 100 degree incriments. Too much work getting to where you are now not to do this one crucial detail.
                                An excellent pizza is shared with the ones you love!

                                Acoma's Tuscan:
                                http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/a...scan-2862.html

                                Comment

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