39 inch Corner Build

[JRPizza]

I fired my oven yesterday for the first time since I applied the insulating blanket. Was quite happy with how fast it heated up but could tell I still have some moisture to drive out, as the floor bricks showed a range of temperatures. Cooked my first pizza. I know I need to learn oven heat management, and I know Russell's "less is more" philosophy for pizza, but the one I cooked was fairly loaded with goodies. It still came out as good or better than any pie I ever cooked on a stone in my oven, especially the crust. Baked some bread after pizza, and know know I need more moisture (I sprayed but maybe not enough) via additional water or more dough (Deejayoh's 10 pound minium?). I only have a temporary door made of some concrete board (no insulation) but the oven was about 360 this AM (12 hours after bread) and around 260 when I got home today (8 more hours) Need to start working on my door, but also need to work on covering my insulation. Lot's left but happy with the progress and results to date.

[JRPizza]

For the triangles to fit you need to make the sides curved. I do a similar thing marking out the blanket with a template and spray paint. Cutting the blanket with a slight bevel then results in a perfect fit.

Practice makes perfect David - you could probably build one of these in your sleep

[david s]

Thanks for the quick reply! I figured if I cut them using the 2' width at the bottom and to a point at the top of the oven, I can take the two pieces from each side and make another triangle, if my geometry is correct. I'll have to use some bits around the chimney I know, but the orange segments should minimize my waste.

For the triangles to fit you need to make the sides curved. I do a similar thing marking out the blanket with a template and spray paint. Cutting the blanket with a slight bevel then results in a perfect fit. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n387850[/ATTACH]

[david s]

Too late for you now, but it's much easier to set a few thin tie wire loops into the mortar course, thus eliminating the need for any drilling.

[Larry P]

JR, I'd say use the shortest tapcons you can find. BTW I used only 2 tapcons to hold my chicken wire in place, this one and one on the opposite side. It pretty much stayed where I placed it. The tapcons were just to allow me to tension it around the base.

[JRPizza]

Thanks Russell. After I posted I saw that the local hardware store has 1.25" long 3/16 as the shortest tapcons they sell, so that is probably what I will end up going with. Their FAQ says to drill 1/2 inch deeper than you want to drive the screws.
I wrapped my insulation using .03 welding wire, cause that is what I had on hand. It's a little stiff, but did the job. I ran a loop through the bottom of my heat break and around the base of the oven, and ran the rest of the wire off of that. The tapcons will be for attaching my mesh, as I think I will have to pull on that a little bit harder to get my shape.

[UtahBeehiver]

[UtahBeehiver]

JR,

I used 1" tapcons into the hearth and 1/2" is plenty of bite for what you need.

[JRPizza]

I finished my insulation today. Planned on cutting the insulation into orange peel segments as discussed above, bit abandoned that after I put two of them up and saw my hopes of having everything "just fit" weren't happening. I ended up cutting strips (6" to 8") of various lengths and tried to replicate what the FB guys do on their insulation video.
I have never used tapcon type fasteners, and have a question for the forum. I am guessing I need to fasten down the steel netting/lath (like shown below) so I can pull it tight over my dome. How deep do I need to sink the tapcons into the hearth to get them to hold. The load will be low, but I don't know how much bite they need to dig in.

[JRPizza]

JR,

BTW, nice little brick accents on the side of you chimney, looks like you are golden on the brick cap.

Russell, I"m glad you like my cap, and glad you don't mind being copied. I liked the look of your chimney from the first time I saw it. Mine is no where near as nice as yours, but it should look kinda familiar to you

[JRPizza]

Thanks for the quick reply! I figured if I cut them using the 2' width at the bottom and to a point at the top of the oven, I can take the two pieces from each side and make another triangle, if my geometry is correct. I'll have to use some bits around the chimney I know, but the orange segments should minimize my waste.

[UtahBeehiver]

JR,

Did just like you are thinking, orange peel segments but I did use the full 2 foot width so I ended up with some triangles but most get used in other places, It is really nasty stuff so gloves, long sleeves and Niosh 95 dust mask are in order.

[JRPizza]

I'm getting ready to wrap my insulation, and had a question especially for Russell, but others please feel free to chime in. I have 1" blanket, in 2' wide 25' long rolls. I'd like to get the blanket wrapped with as little overlap at the edges as possible, so I don't have to do as much compensation with the v-crete to make the dome round. I'm planning on doing at least 3 layers. Russell's wrap job looks exceptionally done, so I was wondering if he did any special technique with either sequence or how he cut it to conform. I watched the fornobravo insulating video, but was hoping to not end up with a bunch of small triangles left over, unless that is unavoidable. I have an idea to cut pieces like the picture shown below - I think I can do it with very little waste.

[JRPizza]

You might want to pick up a copy of Wing and Scott's "The Bread Builders". The first half of the book talks about sourdough microbiology and how to get a starter healthy and maintain it that way. Until I learned how to manage my starter, it wasn't good for much but making pancakes. I think the different starters can have some subtle differences in taste and properties, but if you aren't using the starter to the maximum of it's abilities you aren't going to get good results. I also found Chad Roberts "Tartine Bread" to be a good read, at least the first part (the recipes did not do much for me), as he does most of his baking with natural leavens and he is a big proponent of dutch oven cooking if all you have is an electric oven.

[UtahBeehiver]

I am a novice at bread making, all these fancy names of cultures are very interesting. I take you up on the starters when I start my serious bread baking adventures.