WFO progress in Kansas

[Nabber86]

Re: WFO progress in Kansas

Well I hope you are making progress. Despite the bugs, the weather is great this weekend. I had the oven fired up all day yesterday. Made several pizzas as well as roasted chickens and 2 loaves of bread. Getting ready to do some pot roast in a dutch oven today.

Not too may fellow Kansans here I guess. Stilwell is just south of Overland Park. Most people around here are into BBQ (I have been been doing competition BBQ cooking for years). This pizza oven cooking is really awesome. Hurry up and get yours done so you can join the fun.

[cecilB]

Re: WFO progress in Kansas

Well, I made the progress of ONE ring - but used the indispensible tool and it seems much more even. However, the dome to arch - HELP!!! We wasted quite a few bricks trying to cut them to fit. Then the section on one side of the arch fell in! There just wasn't enough support under it to have done more than one row in one day.
Any advice will be appreciated!

SO...patience. Good things come to those who wait!

Yes, Kansas - especially the KC area - is barbeque. But we've gotten so many questions about what we're doing that I bet this is a trend people will get into.


I've been doing pizza a bread for a long time...but nothing professional....yet.

c

[cecilB]

Re: WFO progress in Kansas









Well, I made some pretty good progress today. I just barely closed in. I was having trouble with the dome to arch transition, and last week worked so hard to accomplish it - I used an angle grinder and was just about finished with one of the last bricks before I had to close up for the weekend! So, I got it done on one day - don't remember which one - and then was able to go ring after ring pretty smoothly, until today I reached the end! I got part of the hole closed up, and I hope I don't end up knocking out a few to try to get it closed up easier.
Let me just say, I took 4 advil after I came it - I stopped at 6 p.m. so I could eat and we had to be somewhere at 7, and I had just mixed up the last of the dry mortar mix when I had to stop. AAAACK!
And I know I won't be able to work on it til AFTER Thanksgiving week, as we have to go out of town!

[cecilB]

Re: WFO progress in Kansas

Here's a few more pictures since I exceeded the limit on the last one: well, ok, one more. Basically it's the last few cuts and it's hard. My oven and area looks pretty darned messy...but we'll fix that soon enough. I really would like to be able to do it so neatly and have it all come together as perfectly as some of those I've been looking at recently - I think on Hansen's Horno?
But I should say, despite how mad I was when I had to stop tonight - with a splitting headache and my back...OHHHHH, My Back!!! - I am still so excited that I have actually reached this point.

Thanks to all you people out there with the great advice! I tell everyone about Forno Bravo and I wouldn't be surprised if we started a trend around here!

C

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: WFO progress in Kansas

hey ceceilia..
Congratulations.... I thought a trend would start here too,, till they saw the amount of work and the cost $$... Did you order your inculation yet ??

Cheers
Mark

[cecilB]

Re: WFO progress in Kansas

Yeah, well, they all think they can just borrow my saw...ha ha.

I have not ordered my insulation yet - and I want to see about the chimney and my options there. Any advice? Do I have to have the stainless steel thing? Or even the clay thing? Can I "build" it out of firebrick? Does that have to be lined?
But I guess I start looking into that on this here wonderful forum!

Yeah - the door - that's another thing...
And "housing" the whole thing.

Tonight we're having a big pizza bash - oh how I wish it could be done out there!

Cecelia

[KINGRIUS]

Re: WFO progress in Kansas

Hey Cecelia! I'm really glad to see your progress! Almost there ay? If you think having to stop just shy of closing the dome is bad, wait till you close the oven and realize you won't be able to cook in it till after you cure it! Thats where real patience will be needed...

As far as chimney ideas, I'm using a 6" stove pipe liner and will be enclosing it in 16X16" brick. I purchased a chimney anchor plate from this place :Sure Temp Chimney Anchor Plate 6 Inch 206400 by Selkirk at HardwareAndTools.com which will let you attach the stove pipe to the top of your entry arch. However I am getting some smoke out the front of the oven despite my tall 7' chimney, so others may have better suggestions for chimneys that would draw better and not blacken the front of your oven.

Thanks for your progress pics, your almost there!

Darius

[trockyh]

Re: WFO progress in Kansas

Congradulations Cecelia, your dome looks awesome!
Question, with the wind you have, did you position your oven away
from the prevailing wind? We live on a hillside and get a bit of wind
and might cause a problem.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Tom

[ThisOldGarageNJ]

Re: WFO progress in Kansas

Can I "build" it out of firebrick

I built mine out of firebrick,, Other than I made the chimney hole too small (my own fault) there is no reason you cant as long as you have a solid arch underneath it....... i went up one more course of bricks than you see in the pic.. it works fine once heated up,, once again the only problem is the hole is too small and if i had to do it again i would make it at least 8 inches....

cheers
Mark