36" Low dome - looking for advise or lessons learned from builders

[cdm2019]

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning to start the build of a 36" oven near the end of Sept 2019. I have my 10" saw and the plans from Forno Bravo.

My first thought is to build the low dome Neapolitan version, but would like to hear from the builders of this style what they would do differently or change if they had to do it again.

Are there any Neapolitan builders who regretted going with the low dome and would build the Tuscan version next time?

Thanks in advance and looking forward to the feedback -

Curtis

[UtahBeehiver]

Builder's choice,although, IMHO, high dome or Pompeii brick is by the most popular, then high dome cast, then barrel or low dome. With a low dome you do need to factoring in buttressing of the side wall soldiers due to the inherent sideways pressure that a low dome exerts. High dome does not need this as long as it is a full arch configuration. There is a thread on the blog about "what would I do different" do a search to find. The eplans are a great baseline but dated and you need to look at the forum for new and better construction and design techniques. Go the Newbie Section and under a sticky call Treasure Archives there are links of some of the more documented builds but primarily high domes.

[cdm2019]

Russell,

Thanks for the tips. I just looked over your build and WOW !! your oven is beautiful.

Curtis

[Larry P]

Hi Curtis,

We chatted a little on the pizza making forum IM...

In my opinion, the low-dome is better balanced top and bottom heat for specializing in pizza, but it's more complicated to build, and slightly less versatile because the low dome forces a lower door. It's probably more difficult e.g. to roast a whole turkey. We tried grilling in ours (36" diameter, 14.5" elliptical dome, 9" semicircle door) using a Tuscan grill, which didn't work because stacking the Tuscan grill over coals became too tall to get anything past the door.

That said, I have no regrets. What we've found for grilling/roasting is that using a cast iron griddle directly on the floor and fire to the side is actually much better and easier to control than fire/coals directly under the food. This has become my favorite method of grilling and our Big Green Egg is pretty much used only for smoking now.

Cheers,
Larry

[jcapra]

Curtis, I am right there with you. Just started building mine, got the stand going this last weekend. From the look of Russell's work were in pretty some pretty good company with the forum! What 10" saw did you get? It looks like Rigid has one that has pretty good reviews but is about $800!

[UtahBeehiver]

As far as a wet saw, it depends on what other projects you have in mind. The cheap old 10" HF saw has worked for many builders and typically can be found on sale all the time for around $250. I used an older HF model and it is still hanging around. One of the keys to the longevity is to take the water pump and place in a homer bucket and fill with clean water rather than recirculating all the brick cuttings through the pump. Save the difference in money and invest in insulation of the build.

[slschoming]

Agree with Russell on the Harbor Freight saw. I bought mine brand new in June for around $220 and have not regretted it. I will probably tile my kitchen when I finish my oven and then get what I can for it on craigslist. I like the clean water pump idea, I will use that trick for the remainder of my build!

[Gulf]

I'm also a big fan of the HF saw. I have done other projects with mine since the oven build. Just a couple of pointers on using the homer bucket. The pump that comes with the HF saw is designed to pump from the saw's pan to the blade. Elevate the bucket to about that same height as the pan so that the pump is not fighting increased head pressure to get water to the blade. Keep a close eye on the level in the bucket. I have ran out of water in mid cut. That's not good on the blade. One, not so very expensive, thing that you can do to prevent this from happening, is to drill a hole in the bottom of the bucket to fit a cheap commode float. You will need a supply line and the fittngs neccesary to convert to your water hose. I used milk crates to elevate the bucket. The milk crates also have some convenient holes to route the plumming. Here is a pic of some of my rig. At the time that the pic was taken, the fittings had been repurposed. The bucket had also been repurposed for a tomatoe plant .

[jcapra]

You guys are amazingly helpful. Thanks for the tips on the wet saw!

[cdm2019]

jcapra

My saw is a craiglist find: an older Ridgid WTS2000L

What type of blade is best for fire brick? I see segmented and non segmented....

Curtis

[UtahBeehiver]

I preferred segmented for brick, more aggressive cuts, unsegmented for finer cuts like ceramic tile.