rokdok
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Posts: 130
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Post by rokdok on May 16, 2014 21:32:41 GMT
Don't get carried away !!!! Last night I cut a circle from the plywood that I got for making the frame for the for the concrete base. and also a template- made out of the hardboard left over for the curve . Instead of just sand for the former I added a bit of cement 1:8 . I very dustily cut the bricks for the rest of the dome tonight - really looking forward to the mortaring tomorrow. Cheers RD
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Post by cannyfradock on May 17, 2014 12:24:37 GMT
Rokdok
Good idea to add a little cement to the sand former for the last couple of rings. I've always used dampened pure sand packed tight for this, but even if you go as carefull as possible not to press into the sand when laying the bricks......you inevitable make a few indents in the sand leaving ridges. Your idea will form a crust in the sand form, doing a neater job.
As I'm lazy and don't cut trapazoid shaped bricks (I just cut them in half )...this is where I start cutting my halves into quarters. I also order 2 and 1" fire-bricks with every order (also handy for the dome/arch transition) and use these to make the last few rings as tight as poss.
I advise other members to leave the dome set for a day before removing the form, allowing you to still point and clean the interior while the mortar is still green. Myself I leave it for a few hours then gently coax the sand former away from the interior...(I'm a bricklayer by trade and KNOW that as long as all the perps are full and tightly packed....then the last few courses and keystone can't fail)....this makes it easier to scrape off the interior, re-point if necessary, then pass a wet/damp sponge over the whole area enough times that it leaves the inside top of the dome smooth and spotless. This is important as the top is the first place to hold soot/carbon when fully firing your oven for the first time. It is also the first spot to start clearing itself from soot and it's cool to see a clear soot free line descending down the oven walls. When the soot free line has descended to 6" from the hearth, this is the time I push the embers to one side ad clear the hearth ready for use. I use a long handled alu pizza peel for this....I finally free the hearth of all ash with the use a copper pipe flattened one one end and gently blow the ash to the rear.
Looking forward to your next stage comment...and pics.
Terry
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rokdok
WFO Team Player
Posts: 130
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Post by rokdok on May 17, 2014 16:55:11 GMT
Just finished tapping the final keystone home. I was going to leave it an hour and then remove the former but I'll take your advice Terry and leave it overnight. I got a bit ragged towards the end.
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rokdok
WFO Team Player
Posts: 130
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Post by rokdok on May 17, 2014 18:25:56 GMT
This I think has been the most tricky bit, I didn't cut the bricks correctly so had to put one or two in upside down. Her's hammering home the keystone on the second ring from the top, next to it you can see an upside downer. Put a key on the next ring too but wasn't sure what kind of keystone to do. Ended up with this arrangement- essentially three wedges. It was quite tight and took quite a while to tap home. Now Terry, I left it for a couple of hours and went for a kip- I've got a gig tonight and was a bit hot and bothered - It was really hot underneath the gazebo. I then thought that as I'd keyed each ring and it was really tight that it wouldn't collapse, so I took the former out. You can see that I had to cut a few strange'uns and they're not particularly level- reminds me of kid's teeth in old war photos. Here's another a bit closer up. Some are quite proud and the 3 keystones are tucked in a bit. Should I put some mortar in the joints to try to level it out or just leave it ?? Don't really want soot pizza. Cheers Paul
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Post by cannyfradock on May 18, 2014 16:20:18 GMT
Paul
......"This I think has been the most tricky bit, I didn't cut the bricks correctly so had to put one or two in upside down."....
...I think you have shown more patience and skill in cutting tapered and trapazoid cuts than a good deal of us on the forum who have shared their build.....well done!!
It's always better to make sure the internal beds and perps are full and flush ...before sponging off to leave a full curveture. Saying that....you've done a good job of leaving a smooth finish on bricks and mortar.......nice job btw. Myself I may just do a final upside down dangly leg thing and check for any holes or gaps and fill with a bit of refined homebrew.....wipe off immediately with a damp sponge. Any mortar beds or perps that are slightly recessed have already been dressed correctly so just concentrate on any holes or voids.
Looking good Paul.....
terry
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Bo
valid member
Posts: 75
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Post by Bo on May 19, 2014 6:42:54 GMT
Your keystones at the top are very similar to mine, if not a bit neater, and I don't have any issues with sooty pizzas !!
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rokdok
WFO Team Player
Posts: 130
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Post by rokdok on May 20, 2014 10:44:22 GMT
Thanks Bo , I think I was a bit paranoid that night and I just had visions of having put a lot of effort into the build of having blobs of soot on everything I cooked! Thanks for your and Terry's comments . I am now back in the land of the sane . Terry thanks for your reassurance and the helpful tips. I'll make an ember blow pipe I've got a length of copper tube left over from making a chicken ladder. I got inside the oven and did the dangly leg bit, but I'm a bit stiff and 6'2''' so it was quite a performance As I was nowhere to be be seen my wife Helen unplugged the extension cable and the light went out. It was like the black hole of Calcutta and I think I must have got mor mortar on my face in my mouth and nose than ended up at the top of the oven . Any way it looks a bit smoother now and I've just put a 45 watt greenhouse heater in to dry it out a bit. It's open gardens in the village this weekend so there has been a mega clean up job going on and what I can do will be bit restricted as there will be people wandering around so I'm going to put a bit of copper strip over the exposed thermocline block. Cheers Paul
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rokdok
WFO Team Player
Posts: 130
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Post by rokdok on May 31, 2014 22:16:09 GMT
Work or rather play resumes after mega clear up last weekend. Today built a thermal block arch out of half thickness thermolite. Also quickly rendered the top 3/4 of the dome- i.e. all but the soldier layer, cut some bricks for the start of the outer arch Sideways on Can't wait to get going again tomorrow cheers RD
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Post by cherrycolavodka on May 31, 2014 22:44:39 GMT
Hi there, looking good. I have a question. It looks like you've really got cracking on this quite quickly, how long has it taken you to get from the first ring to this stage... i am chasing my tail... have a deadline to meet [pizza party] and i just wondered how long it takes in reality?? Thanks! Delaine
PS the Wooden base is really a looker.
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rokdok
WFO Team Player
Posts: 130
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Post by rokdok on Jun 1, 2014 9:05:38 GMT
Thanks Delaine. I've been quite slow - this has been because I've cut virtually every brick along four sides. I would say that I've probably spent 12 whole days from the first ring- I took a week off work to get it kick started. 70-80 % of this time has been spent brick cutting I would guess- it would take me about a day to cut and lay a ring . The saw is great but it won't cut fully through a brick on its side. It's not helped by the fact that the saw is at the front of the house and the oven is round the back. For a much quicker build I'd use bricks cut in half like Cannyfraddock does or the UP Pompeii in Wiltshire build. If you'v got a deadline for a pizza party then focus on just getting the inner arch and dome built forget about every thing else for the time being- you'll be able to cook pizza just with that. You'll need more wood to keep it up to temperature and instead of a chimney the smoke will just come out of the front, but it may be better to do this then complete it later rather than rush it now. The one thing I think you do need with these builds is time and patience. Hope that is of some help cheers Paul
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Post by docfester on Jun 1, 2014 9:28:58 GMT
Great looking entrance arch Paul and perfect cuts as always, love the copper frontage also. You may have already said but what finish are you going for on the dome? Hope you make good progress in the sunshine today Pete
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rokdok
WFO Team Player
Posts: 130
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Post by rokdok on Jun 1, 2014 20:39:35 GMT
Cheers Pete. I had to do quite a lot of biology revision with my daughter today- it's her AS tomorrow, but still managed to get a bit done.I extended the thermolite heat barrier to the base of the oven and covered it with some 1 inch firebrick cut in half. I then left a gap for the vent and built the outer arch . As far as the outside is concerned I'm going to use a mix of brick and stone, On the left of the above photo are a couple of slabs of Portland stone. I'm going to polish them up a bit and cut them into tiles for the outside. I've got various bits of Purbeck and Blue Lias stone to do the same with. The first couple of layers though will be firebrick alternating with Broadmayne brick. There were brick works at Broadmayne from the mid 1700s until just post war. No two bricks are the same and most of the old buildings in Dorchester are made from them. A builder friend of mine has given me some-- they do take a lot of cleaning off though. Sat in the garden for a bit drinking some home made cider with the barbie on cooking some chicken. After a couple of bottles I decided I would take out the arch former, stick thinspection lamp inside and take a picture. ]Cheers Paul. PS Note the Marigolds
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Post by cherrycolavodka on Jun 1, 2014 21:22:53 GMT
Hey Paul. Thanks for the sound advice regarding timings. Your build is looking super.... An inspiration!
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rokdok
WFO Team Player
Posts: 130
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Post by rokdok on Jun 2, 2014 22:03:50 GMT
Started the chimney today, using a connector for a single skin flue a la mikey1968. Trouble is how to fix it in. Although I've got some really high heat resistant silicone ( says up to 1500 c ) on trading the instructions it says that if exposed to flame or hot exhaust gases it will very slowly burn. If I set it in with Home Brew Then I'm worried that the HB will crack with the flue's expansion. So I came up with this idea : ( although it's probably been down before ) The bricks with the big hole sit on top of the bricks with the small hole. The connecter easily fits in the top bricks but doesn't fall through the next pair of bricks. I can then silicone the connector in place with no fear of any flame or exhaust gas setting it alight. No need for any cement or mortar and the silicone can cope with any expansion. Her's it in situ . The thing is I now quite like the idea of a brick chimney so might just go up a couple of stories Mmm. Cheers RD
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rokdok
WFO Team Player
Posts: 130
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Post by rokdok on Jun 3, 2014 20:01:52 GMT
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