My 3-Legged Dome Brick Oven Photos Discuss My 3-Legged Dome in the Good Background Information forums; "Here is a pic of a rather crude indispensible tool that I put together last night. " Not crude. "Simple ...

[Neil2]

"Here is a pic of a rather crude indispensible tool that I put together last night. "

Not crude. "Simple and elegant" is a better description.

[fxpose]

The cheap abrasive blade wore out quickly and took forever to cut so I got a real blade for the job. ...
So I spent a couple of hours just cutting bricks in my driveway next to my clunker....

[eprante]

George,
Your brick work looks excellent thus far. The I tool looks to be working just fine. Unless you are a professional in the masonry trade, you figure it out as you go. The difference is we think about it about 10x more than people who do it all the time, and make twice as many mistakes. But almost all of us end up with an oven that meets our needs and we are proud of. The brick dust will wash off your clunker- no worries. Looks great!!
Eric

[fxpose]

Originally Posted by eprante

Unless you are a professional in the masonry trade, you figure it out as you go.

You're absolutely right about that, Eric. Especially when I get to the dome & vent transition area, it'll get figured out somehow.

Thanks,
George

[lwood]

Yes, the vent/transition area boggled my mind for about a week. But I finally figured it out.

[fxpose]

Due to space constrictions up against a corner wall of my house I used 3" bricks for the first 3 courses. As you can see from the photo I now have enough clearance to use half bricks from the 4th course up. I doubt it, but I'm hoping this isn't going to cause a structural problem.
My original plan was to go 3" all the way to the top.

Any thoughts would be welcomed.

Thanks,
George

[Neil2]

"I doubt it, but I'm hoping this isn't going to cause a structural problem."

Try it. If it is still standing when you put the last brick in, it is likely to stay standing.

[fxpose]

A little progress this week...
I laid course 4 and part of course 5.

Tomorrow, I'll figure out exactly how I'll bridge the rest of course 5. As the entry will be straight across at the top, I'll use an angle iron to bridge across like everyone else. I plan on using a 2" angle iron.
This is also where I must decide the exact height of the entry which looks like a smidge over 9" straight across the top, as my revised oven height will probably end up being around 15". That gives me a 60% ratio.
I'm wondering if 9" is too low for larger food items. It may be a little tight, but I'm thinking not.

Edit: As long as I can stick my head inside I don't think 9" is too low...

[fxpose]

Saturday...

You and your camera will get dirty...

[fxpose]

Staring and pondering at the angle iron across the top of the inner entry before heading into work this morning I realized that I need to widen that cross top a bit more to support the full thickness of the course that will rest on top. I will add a second angle iron.

George