John's 42inch Aussie WFO

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Mortared in the arch tonight. I will come back and clean up the joints with mortar once the arch template has been removed

Just wondering if anyone can tell me when it is safe to remove the arch template as I would like to clean the brickwork before the mortar sets like rock?

[MikeyMann]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Hi John,

Looks good... I removed my formwork after about an hour. The arch should be self-supporting pretty quickly, just as long as the mortar on the bricks at the very ends are already hard.

I could then easily wipe off any excess mortar with a sponge, and use a trowel (or your finger with a rubber glove) to insert some mortar into the joints that may have missed out due to the formwork.

Good luck... go have a beer and watch your mortar dry. It's very therapeutic!

M

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Looks good... I removed my formwork after about an hour. The arch should be self-supporting pretty quickly, just as long as the mortar on the bricks at the very ends are already hard.

Im with mikey,, I think I waited about the same amount of time ...

Looks great

Cheers
Mark

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Thanks guys

Actually ended up taking the form and cleaning up the next day and it cleaned up fine.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

hey john,
its gonna look great with those dark colored bricks...

cheers
mark

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Started work on the arch transition this week and am trying to think of a way to avoid the internel steps where the bricks overlay and leave large areas of unsupported brick (sorry about the bad description).

I think with the next bricks I am going to use full sizes bricks and then shape them with a grinder to complete the the arch transition. I am also going to cut off a 45 degree bevel from the arch itself to give me more surface area to set the bricks

[DaveW]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Hi John,
Your oven is so beautiful I hate to even post an idea.
I notched a full length brick and hung it on the arch before I started my next chain. It helped me get the dome back to a circular shape. It doesn't look like you have that problem though.

Dave

[trockyh]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Looks great John, love the arch and the dark bricks.

Tom

[3G_]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Looks good John.
I made my arch and noticed the same thing, that the arch would be quite unsupported at the top. I knocked mine down and rebuilt it about 40mm further inside the oven, so at the base it is a tad inside the dome, and at the top there was still a decent bit of fire brick on top of the arch.
Hope this makes sense, and either way yours will be fine im sure.

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Hi John,
Your oven is so beautiful I hate to even post an idea

Thanks Dave

Your build looks fantastic and cannot wait to see when it is all done!! I love the way the benches come out leaving your oven as a central focal point!! It's going to be a great entertaining area.

It will be interesting to see how much wood it is going to take to heat your oven with that very nice floor of yours!! it looks like a 4 inch floor??

I am always interested in peoples ideas/comments as I have never built anythink like this before. I can gaurantee that my build is far from perfect.

Cheers

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Looks great John, love the arch and the dark bricks.

Tom

Thanks Tom

I actually had my home built with this brick and had about a thousand left over so decided to use this for the barbecue area. It is a very unique brick and hard to come by these days.


[QUOTE 3G ] I made my arch and noticed the same thing, that the arch would be quite unsupported at the top. I knocked mine down and rebuilt it about 40mm further inside the oven, so at the base it is a tad inside the dome, and at the top there was still a decent bit of fire brick on top of the arch.[/QUOTE]

Hi 3

I guess we can put it down to bad planning and too much alcohol consumption. Its a shame you had to knock it down and start again.

I am going to work with what I have and use the grinder if I have to. Remember the grinder is your friend!!

cheers

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Hi all

I haven't had a chance to work on the oven of late but managed to work on it today. I spent a considerable amount of time on the arch transition and am happy to say I have finally completed my first full ring!!. Hopefully its all smooth sailing from here on in. The the last couple of bricks that sit on the arch did not come out as good as I hoped but will suffice.

[MikeyMann]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Hey John that looks great. I felt the same with mine, but I decided to turn my attention to structural integrity and not worry about the look. Especially around the arch transition as you're never going to see it. Just as long as it's all locked in place and the weight it evenly distributed it should be OK.

The rest of the oven becomes easier after this. Especially if you have a form.

BTW... I did my first real fire last night after curing with head beads.

I followed exactly what field furnace told me, slowly up to 200 degrees, then hold for 8 hours then slowly up from there. I got a few cracks, very minor, probably 0.5mm, I am considering repairing them with flue goo, but the oven goes so well.

Keep going mate... nearly there.

M

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

The rest of the oven becomes easier after this. Especially if you have a form.

BTW... I did my first real fire last night after curing with head beads.

I followed exactly what field furnace told me, slowly up to 200 degrees, then hold for 8 hours then slowly up from there. I got a few cracks, very minor, probably 0.5mm, I am considering repairing them with flue goo, but the oven goes so well.

Keep going mate... nearly there.

M

Thanks Michael

I will try to finish the dome free hand rather than use a form, I guess I am a glutton for punishment, I am also beginning to look at chimney sizes/airflow. I think I will make the flue from brick rather than stainless steel, Andrew from field furnace told me that I will get cracks from the shrinking and expanding of the flue.

Will see how I go

Out of curiosity where did you get the minor cracks?

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Hi all,

I have 3 questions that I hope somebody can assist with.

I do not know anything about chimney construction and would like some guidance on the following

1. I am planning to build the flue with solid dry pressed bricks. Will the weight of the chimney support itself on the external and internal arch bricks? I plan on nocking down the existing landing brickwork and erect a double brick wall rather than single.

2. I realise that there are multiple threads on chimney design but can anyone recomend one that will assist with airflow and size?

3. Can anyone suggest a reason why a stainless flue is better than brick construction?

Much appreciate your help?