Question: Has Anyone Ever Used Cob for the Stand?

[Archena]

I'm curious if it can be done. It's something I really want to learn how to do anyway but I'm not sure of its compressive strength and how massive the walls would have to be to support the oven's weight. I assume it's possible given that you can build houses with it but it may not be practical which is why I'm wondering if anyone has experience with it or knows of it being done.



Yes, I'm weird.

[noosab]

I'd be curious to know what cob is. My experience gave me two:
Something nature uses to support corn.
A kind of salad.

[Archena]

Sorry, it's similar to mud brick only it's not dried before construction, but during.

Cob (building - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[dmun]

corrected link

[Archena]

Doh! Thanks!


Better one: What is Cob?

[noosab]

Thanks! Now I know what it is, but certainly not enough to be much help.
Earl

[Archena]

That's okay.


I can find references to making mud ovens out of cob but nothing about using them or how well they work. I'd rather use brick for the oven itself - I just can't see how a mud oven wouldn't end up having trouble with spalding.

[james]

I do not have any experience using a cob oven, but I have always thought it was more of a "yes it can be done" approach, rather than something you would want to have and cook with for years.
James

[Archena]

That was my thinking. I think cob would make for a very pretty - and much more workable for me - stand if I can find out how thick the walls should be to support that much weight.

Thanks!

[jwnorris]

My nephew built a mud oven a couple of summers ago, and that's what got me obsessed with wood fired cooking & now baking. I am unsure if it is truly a cob oven - it may be just mud and straw.

It is a small oven and was built using a sand dome as the form. It does not have a chimney and cooks well; now that it has some age, he no longer has any spalling on the inside - no more sandy food.

On to the stand, I would worry about the lack of reinforcement, not so much the compressive strength. Afterall, it native americans build houses out of less.

J W