John's 42inch Aussie WFO

[Alter ego]

Originally Posted by John K

How are you going with your base?

John,

I poured the hearth slab on Sunday and I am looking forward to getting on with starting on the dome.

I have managed to find a Newcastle transport company who will deliver 1,000kg of bricks from Sydney for $100 so for that price I won't even attempt to drag a trailer behing the car with a tone of bricks on it.

Are you using the the tapered arch and transition bricks that Field Force sell? From the look of the fancy cutting on your 1st arch brick it look like a normal rectangular brick? Also did you go for the brick herringbone floor rather than the larger tiles just because it looks better?

I am currently leaning towards a herringbone brick floor and cutting my own arch/transition bricks rather than the using the Field Force tapered bricks so that I can change the style of the oven entry.

Paul

[John K]

Paul,

I preferred the standard fire bricks over the floor tiles as the fire bricks are thicker therefore have more mass 75mm bricks & 50mm Floor tiles.

The floor tiles would have been much easier to lay but went for greater mass instead.

Yes the arch brick is a standard fire brick cut and shaped but I think I will play around with that a bit more as I am not entirely happy with it. I might take a Angle off the corner and have the Soldier sit right up against it. I am The external arch will be bricked up in a standard Bowral Blue Brick (solid).


Look forward to seeing your pics!!

John

[John K]

Began setting the soldiers over the weekend. It wasn't as easy as I anticipated and am only a third of the way through!!

I found that the High Temp mortar dried out too quickly due to the bricks sucking the moister out. It took me a while to figure out the correct mortar mix and found that by placing the bricks in water before hand also helped.

I purchase a very cheap car enclosure (Kmart $89.00) last week that I was planning on using to help with the heatstroke I was probably going to suffer working on the WFO!! Expecting a hot summer down under this year.
Instead it absolutely poured with rain and wind today but I stayed relatively dry.

Have the week off so hopefully will make some progress.

Cheers John

[jmhepworth]

Figuring out the mortar takes a couple of courses if you haven't worked with it before. As you have discovered, keep the firebricks wet. They soak up a lot of water if they are dry. And only mix enough mortar that you can use in 15-20 minutes. ANd mix the mortar with cold water.

Looking great so far. This part is really fun.

Joe

[MikeyMann]

Great work John. Really like how you've used the saw to cut the first soldier course. I should probably do the same.

Good idea with the car cover. I got absolutely trashed with rain on the weekend. I found it hard to keep the rain from the mortar. Enjoy your week off.

[John K]

Thanks guys. Am definitely enjoying myself.


The weather was atrocious in Sydney today but managed to complete the soldiers to 90%. Will start on the arch bricks tomorrow.

I am aiming for an internal dome height of around 20-21 inches so i think my arch will need to be approximately 12-13inches at the highest point. This would be equivalent to around 63% of the dome height (Please correct me if I am wrong).

[MikeyMann]

Great job mate. Looks nice and tidy. I finished my formwork today and will pour the hearth tomorrow. Let's hope the rain doesn't do a repeat performance...

[John K]

Originally Posted by MikeyMann

I finished my formwork today and will pour the hearth tomorrow. Let's hope the rain doesn't do a repeat performance...

Hi Michael

Your a machine!! Already up to the Hearth pour. Cant wait to see the updated photos

cheers

[John K]

Finished off the Soldier coarse today and began work on the Arch.

I noticed that most people went with 3 brick high brick arch and then began to curve it in so I guess I will also do the same. I found that it is very time consuming to cut the rebate for the door out of the Brick arch and ensure every thing is lined up but as they say slow and steady wins the race.

I have a question around the chimney landing. I will be building the front bricks out of a purple coloured brick (as per the oven base) but there will be no way to tie in the landing Chimney bricks with the arch bricks. Will this be an issue??? I will source some brick ties to mortar in for stability but am hoping for some direction.

I am also considering cutting a splay of around 10mm off the bottom of the first row of dome bricks to minimise the amount of mortar utilised. I guess I will sleep on that one.

Cheers

[jrparks]

Great brick work! I’m looking forward to watching the rest of your build.
Cheers