Les' Build

[RTflorida]

Les, I feel ya...mines still in college and all manual labor is not her......try the guilt trip and yes, we all would rather see your wife's legs . (no disrespect to your legs, of course)

RT

[Les]

(copied from the gallery for the record)

Kinda ugly - my mortar at this point is about 1/8 inch thick - cracks very easy. I was trying find the perfect circle (not the band) but some of the brick started to chip - good enough. I really think I will be able to set the keystone this week - take time off for the 4th - then bring on some major fire.

Les...

[Les]

Originally Posted by RTflorida

Les, I feel ya...mines still in college and all manual labor is not her......try the guilt trip and yes, we all would rather see your wife's legs . (no disrespect to your legs, of course)

RT

Dude my legs are to die for!!!

Les...

[james]

Your legs are nothing compared to your brickwork. Very nice (the brickwork).
James

[Ken524]

Les,

Just amazing. The coolest thing about this is that once it's insulated, it won't matter in the least how much your mortar cracks. I think you've come close to building the perfect dome.

Thousands of years from now, archeologists will be convinced that aliens came down and lent you a hand in building this!

[SpringJim]

Les....it's a shame you and Ken had to cover such great domes....but it makes me happy since they look more like mine now on the outside

Why is your cladding mortar cracking? What did you use? Were the dome bricks wet down first? I find that using a damp/wet brush over the mortar helps to spread the cement and minimize the cracking as well as slows down the drying to let it cure.

Looking forward to your fires!

Jim

[dvonk]

Les,
You have to stop to slow torture the community and have to finish your dome!!!
Please!

[CajunKnight]

Amazing what a man with a dream can achieve. Looks great.

[Frances]

Shall we take a vote? I think I'd rather see Les' legs actually.

Years from now archeologists will dig up this dome and marvel at the increadible workmanship of people in our aera, specially considering to prinmitive tools available... it'll go down as a golden age of brick building...


...well, as long as they don't dig up too many other ovens, that is...

[Les]

Thanks everyone!

Jim, the mortar is really thin and we are in the mid 90's. I'm really not concerned about the cracking - in fact, its part of the plan. When I get it up to full throttle, I am hoping that the bricks move around to their happy place (as long as that place isn't a pile). I'll probably add one or two more coats of mortar taking more care in the application. This stuff was just slapped on after I finished grouting the joints - kinda like licking the bowl.

Les...