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Post by rivergirl on Jul 31, 2015 17:50:03 GMT
Hot stuff I think my build was left on the old site, my avi is my second oven. When I do my next one I will make sure that it's well photographed!
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Post by cobblerdave on Aug 1, 2015 2:17:02 GMT
G'day I have been reading you thread. Clay ovens are not my area of expertise in fact my main experience was helping to pull one apart when the ovens owner moved. I was pretty impressed with how hard baked the clay was in the dome. With your hearth floor I would make it out of those reclaimed bricks in a heartbeat. They will work for sure. I would not mortar them together. I wouldn't mortar any oven floor so it can expand and contract without cracking. I'd lay it in a clay/sand bed though to gain an even floor. If in the future you'll be able to remove and replace any damaged brick this way. Regards dave
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Post by hotstuff on Aug 1, 2015 10:08:22 GMT
G'day I have been reading you thread. Clay ovens are not my area of expertise in fact my main experience was helping to pull one apart when the ovens owner moved. I was pretty impressed with how hard baked the clay was in the dome. With your hearth floor I would make it out of those reclaimed bricks in a heartbeat. They will work for sure. I would not mortar them together. I wouldn't mortar any oven floor so it can expand and contract without cracking. I'd lay it in a clay/sand bed though to gain an even floor. If in the future you'll be able to remove and replace any damaged brick this way. Regards dave Hi Dave thanks for popping into me little thread Thanks for confirming the reclaimed bricks are ok for the oven floor...that's good news So clay and sand bedding is the way i will go. there isn't much on ratios on powdered clay on the web I'm surprised with this since I'm sure loads of people want to use powdered clay they have bought instead of sourcing it from somewhere else. So far on i have read that 5:1 3:2 2:1....
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Post by hotstuff on Aug 1, 2015 19:33:29 GMT
Today's update: Cleaned all the reclaimed bricks! Took about an hour but nice to see them looking shiny. I think I'm still short a few so going to pick up some more Monday. Another question: there's quite a gab between the bricks at the top. Would filling these gaps with sand or clay be better option here? Some pics.
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Post by cannyfradock on Aug 2, 2015 8:27:37 GMT
Hotstuff
I'll try to answer what I can. I've been a bit confused from the start as after reading through all your posts on this thread I notice you are using a method from Simon's e-book (I've never read the book). I've also never heard of using powdered fire clay to build your clay dome....that's where the confusion came in. I only ever use powdered fire clay to make refractory mortar or "homebrew! as we call it when building Pompeii fire-brick ovens....simply because of it's exspence.
Daggle's advice on using fire clay-mix is spot on. Read through again his post use his method of laying your hearth bricks. (you may find it easier if you wet the celcon blocks before laying your hearth bricks. As mentioned ....I've never used powdered fire clay to build a clay oven dome so I'm not sure of the ratio of sand (or perhaps cement?) needed to make the correct consistency for building the clay dome. Perhaps Simon gives that ratio on his e-book or maybe Daggle can advise?
When using natural clay the advised ratio is 2 parts sand to 1 part clay. Mix with enough water and puddle (usually on a tarpaulin with wellies on) to form a pliable mass which when formed into a tennis sized ball...and dropped on a hard surface from waist heigth neither flattens (too wet) nor holds it's shape and cracks (too dry)......it should just "give" a little and hold it's form.
Revert back to Somon's e-book for instruction on the thermal layer.
I would put a little of the powdered fire-clay in a normal mortar mix to build your arch perhaps a 4:1:1/2 mix of sand, cement and fire-clay. I usually put some hydrated lime in the mix when building the arch but you will only need a handfull of the stuff so fire-clay will stop the mortar from cracking.
You seem slightly confused over daggle's comment on fire-clay. Perhaps he has the same understanding as me that poderede fire-clay come in 20 or 25kg bage and is usually granular in form. The only other clay I know is the stuff I use which is natural clay which is found below the top-soil and the sub-soil of any grassy area. (members usually dig it up from their back garden)
Still keep looking over other people builds as a picture and a sentence can be worth a thousand words. Try and find my facebook page (Terry Lyons) and look for Ashley Campbell's posts....or try to find Ashley Campbell on facebook. He has posted 100's of pictures of my Clay oven building course...you may find them very usefull. You can also try "Forno Bravo Forum" for answers which you can't find here.
Terry
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Post by chas on Aug 2, 2015 9:41:43 GMT
Hotstuff You seem slightly confused over daggle's comment on fire-clay. Perhaps he has the same understanding as me that poderede fire-clay come in 20 or 25kg bage and is usually granular in form. The only other clay I know is the stuff I use which is natural clay which is found below the top-soil and the sub-soil of any grassy area. (members usually dig it up from their back garden) Terry There's always earthenware potter's clay of course - good for firing tableware at 1000deg+ and sold in lumps at about a tenner for 15kg. Carriage from a supplier might be an unwelcome cost, but collection from a nearby potter might be an option. A friendly lot, potters. I was given mine! Chas
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Post by oblertone on Aug 2, 2015 10:03:41 GMT
Don't worry about the gaps between bricks; as soon as you light a fire they'll fill with ash anyway.
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Post by hotstuff on Aug 2, 2015 10:20:35 GMT
Hi Terry, This is the clay I have it comes in 25kg bags It had a talc powder consistency to it. We have made some balls with different ratios 5:1, 4:1, 3:2 and 2:1 On Simons blog someone has commented they used powdered clay at a ratio of 3:2 so that where I got that ratio from but I think 2:1 might be the way to go. I couldn't find you in face book mate there's a lot of Terry on there lol. Are you the one in kent?
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Post by cannyfradock on Aug 2, 2015 15:04:08 GMT
Hotstuff I haven't come across that stuff before.....sorry, but I'm also still learning. When I think I know everything something pops up that I must do more research on. here's the link to my facebook page.... www.facebook.com/terry.lyons.16906 .... www.facebook.com/terry.lyons.16906 link don't know if any of them come up as a link?......but you should be able to find my facebook page from that info. Terry
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Post by hotstuff on Aug 2, 2015 19:05:47 GMT
Hotstuff I haven't come across that stuff before.....sorry, but I'm also still learning. When I think I know everything something pops up that I must do more research on. here's the link to my facebook page.... www.facebook.com/terry.lyons.16906 .... www.facebook.com/terry.lyons.16906 link don't know if any of them come up as a link?......but you should be able to find my facebook page from that info. Terry Thanks Terry found the page and the pics! Lovely looking oven yours!! So today we have stuck the reclaimed bricks using 2:1 sand/clay.. It looks very uneven and gappy but suppose that's what happens when you use old bricks all different shapes and sizes. Hoping that doesn't cause any predicaments. Tomorrow is sand forma and the first layer! Eeek! Pics:
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Post by cobblerdave on Aug 2, 2015 21:31:26 GMT
G'day Don't worry about any gapes in the brick this will naturally fill up with ash as you use the oven. This ash will then provide a soft expansion joint between the bricks . They are less likely to crack in the expansion and cooling cycle of the oven. Regards dave
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Post by hotstuff on Aug 2, 2015 21:52:45 GMT
G'day Don't worry about any gapes in the brick this will naturally fill up with ash as you use the oven. This ash will then provide a soft expansion joint between the bricks . They are less likely to crack in the expansion and cooling cycle of the oven. Regards dave Cheers Dave Now comes the important part! The build
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Post by hotstuff on Aug 3, 2015 16:56:16 GMT
Today's update: Rain!! Bloody rain!! Got halfway through the first layer Pics: Sand forma Wet paper (pain in the ass to stick) First layer: It keeps dropping a bit so the layer might look thick Question if anyone is around at the moment. We had to stop half way through due to rain will it be ok to continue later or 2moro or do I need to complete the layer today while wet?
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Post by hotstuff on Aug 4, 2015 7:57:01 GMT
Bumpy bumpy
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Post by hotstuff on Aug 4, 2015 15:31:35 GMT
Update: Finally done the first layer! Holy crap does it take long time. Are there any techniques to do the layer any quicker? My dad was making "bricks" and I was laying them but it's such a slow process. And now we have the insulation layer to do which is much bigger arghhhh! Pics:
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