Hand-holding on saw purchase

[RTflorida]

I stand corrected....you may just wear out your saw. I've never been big on extended warranties, but with your "honey do list", the extra warrantee on the tile saw may prove to be a smart investment.

You certainly have WFO fever......putting your oven ahead of everything else. You are my new hero. Good luck.

RT

[ttriche]

Originally Posted by Lars

... lots of cool methods to learn in the oven building process -- and many ways to do the same thing.

I hadn't laid any regular old house brick before, and I am just amazed at how easily one can cut them with a chisel. They break remarkably clean. But, that being said, there are definitely place where it would be nice to use a tile saw.

Just to be absolutely clear, I think it's fantastic that you went old-school with your dome and rolled Freemason style. But if papavino wanted to go that route, I would suggest returning the 10" diamond saw. I like mine, but that doesn't mean I would want someone else to purchase one and then find that the meditative process of old style masonry fit them better. After all, you have 30 days to refuse Harbor Freight merchandise for any reason.

Me personally, I like the pro-wrestling, anything-goes, modern style of engineering (one of the reasons I can afford to indulge in this folly is that I write code to solve linear and nonlinear dynamic equations), and so I just paid a visit to Harbison Walker this afternoon for more insulating castable refractory. But once upon a time I was going to skip all of this masonry business and just build my oven out of mud! I'm pretty sure the Pompeiian oven builders did not buttress their domes with Kast-O-Lite, but I'm also fairly sure that they didn't have to worry about fascist requirements for variances either :-) which I do.

It is a very Good Thing to have a healthy diversity of opinions and styles. Cheers!

[Lars]

TT,
Lucky for you to be able to put your math/programming education to profitable use. You may be very intelligent. I am sorry if I offended you in some way by touting the simple virtues of a chisel, but this forum is really about putting ideas out there and showing what worked ( and what didn't... though I don't think my cracks are related to my using a chisel). I see some very competent individuals on here and I don't think there are many who would have trouble sifting through all the info and making their own decisions. All I know is what worked for me.

I really don't even know if my posts are somehow annoying and off the mark. Like many, I am just going through the building process and learning things as I go.

I am hoping now that you offer a better design for the method everyone ( including myself) seems to be using that results in cracks.

Where are you in the building process, by the way?

Lars.

[ttriche]

Originally Posted by Lars

You may be very intelligent.

Unlikely -- I am after all building an anachronism ;-)

Originally Posted by Lars

I am sorry if I offended you in some way by touting the simple virtues of a chisel

You surely did not. I thought it was great that you wrote up your observations for others to consider. When I'm done with my dome, maybe I will too, although John Bek has already done a thorough job on the low dome design and its attendant considerations. That's what pushed me over the edge (well, that and my younger brother chipping in for a birthday present). I quickly found that my bricks were more amenable to scoring with a hacksaw and then tapping to split them, so I went the saw route.

Originally Posted by Lars

I am hoping now that you offer a better design for the method everyone ( including myself) seems to be using that results in cracks.

I'll let you know in a year or two ;-). I'm just trying to incorporate observations and improvements derived from the experiences of others, and perhaps contribute a few of my own in the process.

Originally Posted by Lars

Where are you in the building process, by the way?

Mortaring the dome. I should post some pictures, it seems like a long time ago that I was scared to break ground and pour a slab. Even my wife accuses me of being 'handy' these days. Not sure if that is a good thing.

This forum is a tremendous resource, and the diversity of opinions (like yours!) is what keeps the Pompeii design evolving over time. That's cool.