My indispensible tool (a variation on a FB theme) Tools, Tips and Techniques Discuss My indispensible tool (a variation on a FB theme) in the Pizza Oven Design and Installation forums; Jim Tool is working great. Lot's of pictures of of your genius being put in to action on my thread. ...

[geisen]

Jim
Tool is working great.
Lot's of pictures of of your genius being put in to action on my thread.
thanks again.
Greg

[DOC Opa]

RES10CUE

I'm trying to figure out how you did the no weld on the angle where it attaches to the long nut so it is flush or is it flush? Is the brick just resting on the head of a bolt? I need to laid down the floor and then I start building the dome and have most of the pieces to build the jig but I'm stuck on that issue.

Mark

[RES10CUE]

I placed a PVC end cap on the tip of the tool that is what covered the head of the bolt. I had to bevel the end so that I was able to lift the tool out of the way. The long nut is a threaded coupling backed up with a wing nut. This is not a great picture but I hope it helps.

[DOC Opa]

What's the word? Oh ya, genius.

Thanks a lot.

Mark

[jcg31]

Keep in mind when building the tool that the higher off the floor the pivot point is (hinge, ball joint, lazy susan, whatever) the higher your ceiling is going to be. So on a 42" oven if the pivot is 2.25" from the floor (As I have seen in some instances), the distance between wall at soldier course and center of floor will be 21" but the distance between center-top of ceiling and floor will be 23.25".

Also for best results make certain all components are square to one another and that the pivot aligns with center of brick (see earlier post).

Jim

[cuda]

The jig I built is essentially just a turnbuckle and 3/8'"-18 threaded rod. I welded a bolt onto one yoke end and it goes into a T-nut, which is in turn recessed into the center of the plywood. It is infinitely adjustable from 18-24", allowing me to build from 36-48" ovens in the future.

The fine range of adjustability (each turn is 1/18") also allows for making a lower, flatter, elliptical dome (as long as the floor diameter is greater than 36") and eliminates the increase in dome height due to starting above the actual floor brick.

I had toyed with this idea a couple of years ago, but was only going to use it to locate the bricks before mortaring them. The cradle and clamp idea to actually hold the bricks in place seems so simple that I don't know why I didn't think of it at that time.

This could be made with no welds if the floor end used an end yoke and a clevis-type eyebolt. This was about $15 in materials.

[geisen]

Jim
I finished with the tool and as promised, passed it with all your accesories to a another WFO Builder here in SD. (Eric Prante - eprante). Also passed him my plywood floor template and both arch supports so he got the complete do it yourself kit. Your tool worked great through out and made for a perfect dome. Thanks again.

[Likeithot]

Looks great. Love how the joints in your dome look. I am sure they look spectacular from the inside too. I build these for a living and prefer the sand mold method. It requires a bit of shoveling (of sand) but its fool proof and allows multiple layers to be built at the one time. Use styrofoam boxs as infilling with the sand over the top. Great gadget tho!

[jcg31]

Originally Posted by geisen

Jim
I finished with the tool and as promised, passed it with all your accesories to a another WFO Builder here in SD. (Eric Prante - eprante). Also passed him my plywood floor template and both arch supports so he got the complete do it yourself kit. Your tool worked great through out and made for a perfect dome. Thanks again.

Ahh you are a man of your word and thanks for all the kind words throughout the process. Your oven looks great, what are you doing for a top enclosure?

Jim

[fxpose]

Originally Posted by cuda

The fine range of adjustability (each turn is 1/18") also allows for making a lower, flatter, elliptical dome and eliminates the increase in dome height due to starting above the actual floor brick.

I can see that, and this might be insignificant, but I think the angle of the brick holder itself needs to be varied each and every time the rod is shortened for each course of bricks. Otherwise, on the courses where adjustments have been made, those courses will come out staggered.