Cheesesteak's WFO build - Take Two.

[Cheesesteak]

I mortared my first course on top of the hearth bricks.

I debated a bit about using the "indispensable tool" versus cutting a quarter-circle / arch to use as a form - and decided to give the indispensable tool a shot. I've seen so many variations of this thing - I thought I'd try to put together something simple - and very inexpensive.

So . . . I walked around HD a bit and let things find me. I ended up with a low-duty gate hinge, a piece of poplar, and a 90 degree Simpson StrongTie angle bracket. I wanted to use a gate hinge because I thought that I could construct the tool in such a way as to have a 21" radius at the bottom but reduce it to around 19 1/2 - 20" at the top. I'm amazed at how well this thing works. Took me around 10 minutes to build and cost a whopping $3.00 and change.



I tested it and ran it up and around the entry arch - and all of my dome bricks will contact the arch. So - my little Google SketchUp exercise really worked quite well (Arch Location (Locating the arch????))

Course 2 tonight . . .

[azpizzanut]

Cheesesteak,

That's how you do it. I made mine from materials I had at hand. Yours will work just fine.

Cheers,

[Mike D]

Nice job on planing out the arch placement. Don't stop now there is plenty more to do.

Mike

[Cheesesteak]

Got a bit more done today. I ended up finishing two more courses. I'm surprised how long it takes to get this done . . . between cutting bricks, mixing the home brew . . .





I got a bit frustrated with the amount of mortar it took to fill the joints between bricks - so I started cutting them at slight angles (just eyeballed them). I'm using the waste from my cuts as shims - for both the vertical and horizontal gaps. This is giving me a good tight fit - and minimizing the amount of grout/mortar needed.

[Mike D]

I think it is a 3-5 degree angle on the sides, there is a thread here that gives a good diagram to help make things go faster http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/8/it...al-3124-8.html (It's time to go Vertical) post #76.

I did this way at first and then did a variety of way depending on the course.

Mike

[Bert]

Looking Great Cheesecake.

Awesome fireplace at your old place!

You mentioned home brew mortar...What mix/proportions are you using? The refractory mortar here is $36 a bag so this may a good alternate for me to keep costs down.

All the best with your build. I will be watching.

Bert

[Cheesesteak]

Originally Posted by Bert

Looking Great Cheesecake.

Awesome fireplace at your old place!

You mentioned home brew mortar...What mix/proportions are you using? The refractory mortar here is $36 a bag so this may a good alternate for me to keep costs down.

All the best with your build. I will be watching.

Bert

Hey Bert - I'm using the 3:1:1:1 (sand/fireclay/portland/lime) - although I'm adding around 1/2 of the brick dust from my brick cuttings. I drain the water tub from the tile saw and let it dry overnight. The next day - I get a fine clay-like powder - that is made from the same materials as firebricks. I figure it's gotta be good stuff - right? So - my mixture is really more like 3: 1-1/2 :1:1. I paid around $5 for 50# fireclay, $3.50 for 50# sand, around $8 for 90# portland, and around $10 for 90# hydrated lime. So - for the 3:1:1:1 product - I'm around $14 per 100 pounds.

Mike - thanks - I've seen that chart. I've opted for the eyeball method - I've actually got less chance of screwing it up that way (at least I think . . . ). Like I said - my joints are quite small because I'm using firebrick shims to wedge it all together. Fingers crossed it holds together . . .

I'm out of bricks again - gotta go out and get more.

[Cheesesteak]

Moving right along - bot as quick as I'd like - but still making progress. I'm at the top of the arch with my courses - and have gone to 1/3 bricks. I've managed to keep the interior joints fairly small - and have used quite a bit of firebrick cuttings for hims to try to pack everything in good and tight.



I'm around 6'4" and around 215lbs - and I'd contorted myself to get inside to do some work. I'm still wondering how I'm going to finish the last few courses - as I don't think there's any way I'm going to be able to get in through the oven opening. We'll see . . . .

[countryboy]

Lookin good!

Love your first build. This will be even prettier.

As far as the final courses, i didn't have to get inside the oven until the last stone. What I did was build a scaffold out of brick in the center of the oven and then used shims and small pieces of wood to hold bricks in place as the mortar set. Once I got to that level I could only do one course a day so it would be really firm before applying gravity inducing pressures...

Keep up the good work.

[PizzaIdiot]

Originally Posted by Cheesesteak

Moving right along - bot as quick as I'd like - but still making progress. I'm at the top of the arch with my courses - and have gone to 1/3 bricks. I've managed to keep the interior joints fairly small - and have used quite a bit of firebrick cuttings for hims to try to pack everything in good and tight.



I'm around 6'4" and around 215lbs - and I'd contorted myself to get inside to do some work. I'm still wondering how I'm going to finish the last few courses - as I don't think there's any way I'm going to be able to get in through the oven opening. We'll see . . . .

Looks great! I guess that will be me in a few weeks (6'2" and well maybe I'll drop 10# and be down to 215!

Q. Did you pour the arch for the wood storage when you poured the floor?
Looking good!