4 years in the making - 42" dome

[DaveW]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

I was at least 1/2 inch out-of-round by the 4 th chain and that was using the tool. I was more concerned with keeping a smooth inside than a perfect sphere, so I ended up using the tool mostly to determine the surface angle of the bricks.
Your build is looking great!

Dave

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Thanks for the encouraging words Dave! Having seen many really old ovens, they used way more mud and were pretty sloppy, yet they still cooked and did well. I figured that it was better to start the corrections now versus later.

Can't wait to get back to the mudding tonight to get another chain on!

CW

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Today I took the day off to work on the oven. Got started around 0815 and first thing I had to do was trim the arch form - rebuilt it Wednesday.

Then I put the bricks up and started mudding the arch. I realized I forgot to cut the reveal, so off the bricks came then I cut and re-mudded. Arghh

Put chain 3 up fairly quickly - had to cut brick - no biggie.

Chain 4 I trimmed bricks to slope the sides and had to play jigsaw puzzle throughout the chain with rotating them 180 degrees and using full 1/2 bricks.

Finished with one side transition. I know - I need cutting help.

Also, my gloves got pinholes in them, so I have lime burns on my left hand. Back to double gloving.

I tell you what, the 3:1:1:1 mix is really sticky!

[C5dad]

Re: 5 years in the making - 42" dome

Well, Over the holiday, one of my wifes nephews decided to jump into the oven, unbeknownst to me.

So, I used the tool to lay down the next course yesterday and found that I was WAYYYYYY out of round.

I also found a huge crack in the arch - mommmmmy look at me as I jump on uncle Chris' pizza oven. Needless to say, they are banned for the next two years.

So, I ground out the crack, wet the remaining mortar and brick and re-mudded it.

I am now up to chain 8 and was able to get over the arch. Will have pictures tomorrow.

Since we are having overnight temps below 40 F, I have a blanket and hallogen light inside the oven to keep the thing warm

[Dino_Pizza]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Hey Chris, just saw your pick of the HF saw AND stand. I'm really glad I used it too. Can't wait to see your next oven picks.

I noticed you reversed every-other-brick (ie: small end of wedge in, small end of wedge out) on the rows. I think that makes for a 'tight' oven and it's a valid way of doing it. Most use un-tappered or tapered to the inside only (like me) of the oven bricks but I like your method too. Someone else did it this way recently and I think you get more brick in the oven and less mortar which is always better. These round oven are inherently strong and baring any nephews jumping on them half-way thru construction , will last forever.

I had the 'out of round' problem too but once you 'close it up', it doesn't matter. Now that you are over the arch, it's going to go fast.

Don't forget: a splash of cider or white vinager on the hands totally neutralizes the alkali/cement burns. I must have gone thru a half gallon, even drizzled it in my gloves when they leaked (the things you go thru to build a wfo!)

take care, Dino

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Hey Dino!

Thanks for getting back - You have been an asset to me and many others!

Yes, the HF saw with the stand that everyone recommended is the BOMB! It just keeps working like a champ and the blade that came with it is excellent as well. I was looking at a Dewalt for about 1200 and could not justify (though tempting). I was fortunate to borrow mine from a friend, though the tray has a broken upper corner which I will need to fix.

As for my hands, I typically will soak them in warm water and vinegar for a while after building. Oh man does that neutralize the lime. One thing I discovered is that the triple anti-biotic works wonders (as does honey due to its acidic nature.) I have also started to use lotion before putting my gloves on - it acts as a barrier cream to protect my hands a bit when the pinholes develop.

I was switching the bricks around to get a better fit - life is like a puzzle to me (yes Virginia, I are an engineer.) When I started flipping them, the tightness improved. My guess is that you can do 2 short faces in then 1 large face. Even with the 5 degree cuts. Now that I am on my 8th course (still) I am needing to bevel some bricks to tighten the fit.

The out of round really does not have me concerned. As you said, it will be fine when the dome is completed. Plus, the arch transition is making it look a lot worse than what it is!

I am still totally blown away with the stickyness of the homebrew! The funny thing is that even being really accurate with the mix, the water requirements are fickle do to temperatures. Being an ex mud guy, that is one thing that has brought frustration. So if the mud seems a little too loose, I am adding additional fire clay and a pinch of lime for accelerator.

I live out in the open farm land southeast of Phoenix (Yes, that is a dairy you smell). The uber cold (sub 40 weather) should be over early this week. I am hoping to have a good bricklaying run. I am going to use a beachball to fill the hole and mud like crazy to finish the dome. Then the halogen will go back in. Last week, the oven was warm to the touch with the sheet and blanket on it, so I know the halogen was doing its job.

I have also been testing different gloves and can tell you the thin nitrile gloves do not hold up. The thicker lined nitriles do well as do the latex gloves. my high dollar solvent gloves did OK, but are too old and the wrist guards were falling apart. Unfortunately, they are no longer made (stopped making them about 5 years ago!. I need to find my glove compatibility chart.

As Bing Crosby sang - "I'm dreamin of a Pizza for Christmas, just like my Italian mama used to make...."

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Shhh,

We are skipping church this am to let the kids sleep. I snuck out and took a few pictures of my sleeping oven. You can see it too is staying warm during this unseasonable weather with its sheet and blanky. It also has a night light (you can barely see it on the bottom corner of the picture.

The wedges you see were put in whist the mud was wet and I was hurrying to cover the dome due to dropping temperatures.

And yes, there is a hole in my hearth cover - I am doing an experiment on how dirty it will get when not properly covered and will report the results back. Plus, I had to open it up after my nephew knocked the tool out of alignment.

CW

[Tman1]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Sometimes 'Bedside Baptist' is the church of the day.

"uber cold=40*F' hah!! That was sarcasm, right?

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

I could not resist the comment on cold. After living above 8000 feet, a cold winter in Phoenix is almost as bad as a cold winter in the SF Bay area. Just youre blood get thinner!

As a funny side note, I lived in Flagstaff in the 80's (7000+ feet.) My roomates father (from Phoenix) came up and told me he had to put on a sweater because it was in the 60's that winter week. I laughed and told him I peel my sweater off when it gets to the 60's. I guess it is all relative (no pun intended, again.)

May the (pizza) sauce be with you!

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Got to get some work done this eve. I killed the blade, so cuts were minimal at best - BAH!
Looks like a HF run tomorrow after work.

The light is my halogen which has been used during the ultra cool eves when I was concerned about the concrete going below 40 F.

Getting the opening round is a pain. I think it was less that not only cut the bricks at an angle, but also put a taper in them - that would probably work well. The tool is getting to be more useful for holding the bricks for a minute or so until I can butter the next brick. I am mixing the mud fairly stiff, placing it on the course and adjusting the brick as best as I can.

I am at the point of just wanting to complete this thing in the next week - I am taking Friday off to work on it. Seeing that it will be buried under vermiculite and a house, time to get rolling. I was planning on a beach ball for the rest of the dome, but cannot find one around here where it is perpetual summer!

And if I catch the dog grabbing my sponge and tearing it apart, we may be having a dingo roast after one of the firings!

[DaveW]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Got to get some work done this eve. I killed the blade, so cuts were minimal at best - BAH!
Looks like a HF run tomorrow after work.
.....

And if I catch the dog grabbing my sponge and tearing it apart, we may be having a dingo roast after one of the firings!

Looking good. You must be using the blade the saw came with. I kept that for ceramic tile and bought a Masonry blade...still going strong after bricks, block and rock. . . I know exactly which dog stole and destroyed my sponges ...he's right there in my avatar

dave

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

So, there I was...

I went out to work on the oven and behold - a dog eating a sponge - I hate them dingos.

Fortunately, I could salvage a large piece.

So, I completed the dome - and it really looks ugly inside, but it works for me

Halogen on the inside, dome is covered with a sheet and blanket again - low 30's predicted at my casa.

Tomorrow, purchase the HF blade (yeah, i know I was supposed to get today - blah blah blah.) Am also going to get a wire wheel for my drill as well - see below.

Cut the outside arch template tomorrow eve, do some interior cleaning (took out a bushell of crap already.)

Friday, cut arch bricks and attach. Determine how the heck I am going to make the transition to the chimney. knock the brick wedges off. Heck, I may even clean up around the thing

Get the scratch coat on the dome Saturday eve after work - I have weekend duty. Monday - vermicrete/pearlcrete the dome. Continue to bake with the dome for 5 days. Nice thing with the 20% humidity, is that water really flies off the surface if you are not careful!

Is that Pizza I see out my back door?

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

So,

Today I got up and cleaned the inside of the dome using a screwdriver, water and sponge and a drill with a wire wheel. Although I completed it in about an hour, it was a tough hour to say the least - and messy too. My wife laughed seeing by posterior hanging out of the opening - sorry, no pics of that as far as I know.

Pics of the inside dome will be coming next week after the removal of the forms. I do have to say that my masonry sucks, but the thing is solid!

Spent about 45 minutes troubleshooting the blade I just bought from HF. The 5/8th inch hole was not 5/8th inch. After an argument with the wife, an internet search, a search through my tool boxes for a file, I was able to clean the hole enough to get rid of the nasty wobble that was going on when I put the blade in to begin with! I also cleared out the water feed hose to ensure a happy feed.

After the repair, I built the outer arch form and got the thing installed. I like the keystone - it is 2 bricks back to back. The brick is a red calico brick which is rather lovely, if I do say myself.

The opening to the flue will be a challenge. My outer arch is 30 inches wide and 14 inches tall and my inner arch is 21 and 12 inches tall. Dome height is 20 inches I think - I will have to measure.

The plan for this eve is to cut a course of bricks at a 45 degree angle. The the second course at a 60 degree angle and then close the gap so I have a chimney hole of about 8x8 inches. I was thinking of using brick to finish the chimney, but am concerned about the weight at this point. Plus, I want to build a Tuscan Grill next, so I want to save the firebrick.

Any other thoughts? I do have a huge gap to cross.

[C5dad]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

Today was a good day!

I had a crack int he arch (third brick from left.) So I ground it out and re-filled it. The rest of the arch is way solid.

Got the scratch coat on the dome and covered with plastic to slow the water exodus and minimize the crazing/cracking.

Unfortunately, I found out the space between the arches is about 7 1/2 inches - DOH! Spoke with a stove company who does metalwork. They can make the transition fit, but I got to give it some thought. At least I can start the curing on Saturday as I was planning. My other plan is to add another course of tapered brick from the transition walls to close it in and pour a cement cap for each side, then use a clay liner. Oh the choices.

[mklingles]

Re: 4 years in the making - 42" dome

I cut brick and built up from a similar point as you are at to make my flue vent / transition. It worked and draws great, but was a lot of cutting to get the bricks across the gap. In retrospect, I think it would be less work to build a wood form around your arches and cast a flue transition in place. If you search around you'll find some threads with details on casting the flue vent. If I did it again I think I would cast the flue vent.