Tims oven - early days!

[Tim F]

That's weird, a few posts from yesterday disappeared!

[nodoubt68]

Lol, I thought it was just me....I got the same mail twice...felt really loved there for a minute ..lol

[Tim F]

Must be a forum bug!
Here's the pics I posted yesterday anyway. I'm halfway through my last course now, then I just have to get together a keystone and the dome is finished! I have managed to correct the tear drop shape, it took some 'interesting' brickwork though.

[Tim F]

Well, my dome is finished. The last few courses look like a dogs breakfast compared to some of the geometric masterpieces on here but I'm confident that it's pretty strong at least! And hey, 'rustic' is a style

I made the entire dome using just the piece of string as my dome guide after the first few courses, and didn't end up needing any forms except for a stick to hold up the odd recalcitrant. I'd recommend this approach, it was much easier than I thought. I did make my mortar with a little more fireclay than recommended (1 part portland, 3 brick sand, 1 lime, 1.5 fireclay) and it was lovely and sticky which helped a lot.

I'll climb inside tomorrow and scrub down the bricks with a bit of HCl.

Next step is to secure the front edge of the cooking floor and make the arch to support the chimney. Then I'll insulate and render the dome, attach a chimney and cook some pizzas

[Frances]

Well, that shouldn't take you more than a minute or two, right?

Congratulations, good work, its a lovely dome. I may be biased, but I really like rustic domes, and that one looks great!

[nodoubt68]

Wow Tim ! Thanks so much, I hope you enjoyed building your dome as such as we have ..lol.
Have just worked out your not too far away from my favourite lill shop...Beernenberg..
I need to do another trip that way, nearly run out of sauce !
Looking forward to your insulation .....

[Tim F]

Thanks guys!
I had to light a tiny fire with a couple of twigs, just to see some flame in there

Now on to the entry arch. I have it planned out, and I'm cutting bricks tomorrow. I'd still love to hear others experiences with attaching the chimney - any tricks for allowing for thermal expansion if you bolt into bricks?

How much should I worry about insulating the entry - do others give it as much insulation as the dome? Or just a thinner coat?

[nissanneill]

Hi Tim and well done so far!
you've seen mine and I don't have my void or entry insulated, as I feel that it is not needed if you have a well insulated oven door in place, after all, you are not cooking out in the void nor trying to preserve your heat there.
As for the thermal difference, I used 4 small dyna bolts to hold the stainless chimney in place without any problems what so ever.
What sort of chimney are you preferring to use, and what size, diameter and height?

Neill

[Tim F]

I need the chimney to be pretty tall so that it clears nearby rooftops. I was thinking 2x900mm lengths of 150mm pipe but keeping the option to go to 3 lengths. I was originally going to build a short brick chimney on top of my entry and then bolt a standard spigot (flat plate with a short round section attached) but I wasn't sure if it would support a longer chimney well enough.

Now I am thinking that it would be more stable to build a trapezoid that is fitted to my arch, with the pipe welded to that. I can get access to tig or oxy welders if I need to but haven't done any welding for years. What type/thickness of steel would be easiest to work with if I do this?

[nissanneill]

My 'funnel' is made from 1.6mm offcuts from my Robin Hood kit clubman, but the one I made for Hendo's oven was only .9mm 304 stainless.
Plenty of strength for 3 or more sections of flue. I would most definitely go 8" rather than your planned 6" Tim.
I know they work exceptionally well!
Mine is 3 sections tall and I could go easily another 3 or 4 more but then I would need to put a red light to warn the planes on top!
Go to Green steel in Manton Street, Hindmarsh, get some offcut stainless and come around and we will make one up in a couple of hours. You can then 'build and bolt it in.


Neill