John's 42inch Aussie WFO

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

My brother in-law was kind enough to calculate my arch brick dimensions based on a template I had provided him

It looks like I will need 11 bricks

The attached scan has not allowed for any mortar joints but I will look at the final dimensions and factor in a 6-8 millimeter joint.

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Completed the second ring and have begun on the 3rd.

I decided not to splay the 3rd ring as it was very time consuming and my cutting blade is on it's last legs. Will need to source a new 14inch blade in the coming days.

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Ignore the lip. Once you get fire in the oven, you stop looking at the minor imperfections.

Joe

Thanks Joe I'll try my best to pretend that they are not there

John

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

John, for brick cutting I created a tool to set the radius from the axis of the hemisphere and hold the brick at the correct course angle.
"http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f28/new-brick-cutting-tool-old-tool-7649.html"

Hi Chris your tool looks great but well beyond what I could probably create. I'm glad you were able to create something to help with your cuts and am sure you had fun designing it too.

I will stick to the old fashioned shims as they seem to work okay. Keep on creating those tools!!

John

[SCChris]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Joe's right! Without that brick milling machine getting a mirror finish on the interior would be a real bear..

Chris

[jmhepworth]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Ignore the lip. Once you get fire in the oven, you stop looking at the minor imperfections.

Joe

[SCChris]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

John, for brick cutting I created a tool to set the radius from the axis of the hemisphere and hold the brick at the correct course angle. Although my 10" saw didn't, couldn't, get deeper than a 3.5" cut, it set the angles that allowed me to complete the side cuts. The tapering of the bricks, taking 1/2" off the top front inside of the bricks, was done with a simple jig.

"http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f28/new-brick-cutting-tool-old-tool-7649.html"

Here is the thread from the tools forum.

Chris

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Some pics of the 2nd ring.

I am utilising the rod to provide me with the required angle

Is there a way to avoid the internal lip between the top and bottom bricks? Do people grind these level?

cheers

John

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Began on the second ring today and decided that I would splay these rings to provide me with minimum mortar thickness at the back. What a big mistake, it took forever to cut those damn bricks but must admit it is fairly tight.

I set up my high tech jig to also cut the required inside angle as to avoid the internal V.

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Absolutely agree Joe. I cut my plywood floor template into 4 sections today and have placed that on the floor. Beats cleaning mortar off the floor

[jmhepworth]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

I cut a big piece of cardboard to cover the floor and keep it clean. I really made a mess with mortar dropping, particularly as I went higher. I would not have enjoyed cleaning all of that mortar off the floor.

Joe

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

Had a busy day today.

Completed the first row on the dome and will start on the second row tomorrow.

Just wondering if there is a website that I can plug my arch dimensions so I can calculate how to splay and cut my arch bricks?

I tried to get my hands on the angleizer but have been unsuccessfully.

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

+1

Nice block work!

Thanks Mitchamus

That was the easy bit!!

I guarantee the arch work won't be as clean!!

cheers

[John K]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

It's looking really good. I see one potential concern that I'm a little hesitant to point out because you probably already know this. It looks like the wood in the 4th picture is a pattern for your arch. When you make your arch form, make sure it is short enough to shim underneath the form. After building the arch you might not get the form out without damaging the arch if you don't have shims you can take out first.

Hi Jim

You have a great eye their. The template was used to give me the overall height of the 3 arch bricks. I hadn't thought that far ahead but will definitely take your advice and shim it up once cut to size.

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: John's 42inch Aussie WFO

I see one potential concern that I'm a little hesitant to point out because you probably already know this. It looks like the wood in the 4th picture is a pattern for your arch. When you make your arch form, make sure it is short enough to shim underneath the form

Great call JM....... I wouldnt have noticed until you pointed it out...