Tapered Bricks?

[Jethro]

Hi All,
Newbie question... I noticed several WFO builders in this site using "tapered" fire bricks. My question is this - if you go this route are you wasting roughly 1/2 of every brick? I mean, once you cut a tapered brick in half is the back half used? I suppose you could use the back half's saw-cut face inside the oven but I came to believe that is not a good idea and to be avoided. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Les]

Originally Posted by Jethro

I suppose you could use the back half's saw-cut face inside the oven but I came to believe that is not a good idea and to be avoided.

There is a lot of scrap. In regard to the exposed cut, I heard the same thing. Every single brick inside my dome has the cut face exposed. I've been using the oven for over 2 1/2 years with no sign of problems.

[Jethro]

Ok - there are "wedges" and "arches". The back half of a wedge would seem to be waste. However, if you bifurcate an arch brick you get 2 usable half bricks. The difference lies in the orientation of the taper.

[Ken524]

I cut all my bricks in half, then tapered them. Exposed cuts inside the oven may theoretically be a bad idea, but my experience is the same as Les'; no problems.

[dmun]

A perfect fit dome leaves a lot of brick on the floor, or the saw pan as the case may be. It's certainly not half of every brick. You don't, however, have the option of using a single cut to create two wedges.

A perfect fit dome also uses a lot of time, and a lot of saw blades. I think the brick shards are a pretty minor cost.

[GianniFocaccia]

I tapered my bricks to create a more uniform horizontal joint size and to reduce the amount of mortar required, especially on the outside of the dome. Like dmun says, this takes a boatload of time and I'm now on my third $38 10" blade. Mine is hardly a 'perfect fit' dome but so far I've enjoyed (almost) every minute of my fussy-cut build.

The accompanying example (42" oven, 4 1/2" x 2 1/2" brick) illustrates the difference in joint sizes of a non-tapered brick versus a tapered one. The amount of brick loss is insignificant, IMO.

John

[Jethro]

Looks great! Few weeks of cutting and a lifetime of WF pizza. Not a bad trade off IMHO...

[Mike D]

I would say more than a few weeks, unless you are unemployed and independently wealthy (maybe even divorced, without any friends to bother you). It has taken me a lot longer than I had expected. But I am still loving it.

Mike

http://www.fornobravo.com/forum/f8/r...ape-14700.html (Round shape)

[GianniFocaccia]

Mike,

FWIW, I started and completed my oven base while unemployed and barely had the floor laid when I rejoined the ranks of the working. Since then I have been limited to working on the oven on the weekends and only recently for an hour after work. During this time I have watched many a FB oven project initiated after mine and completed in very little time. I am married with three productive kids and definately not independently wealthy.

My point? Take great satisfaction in the job you do on your oven and the attention and care in which you do it. In the end it is you who you have to please and thank and no one else. In our case Jethro's estimate of a 'few weeks of cutting' may refer to the actual total time elapsed just with brick touching a diamond blade, but who cares? This isn't a race.

God speed to you......!!!

John

[Mike D]

-I was in no way trying to be disrespectful to anyone. I was mostly referring to the line of a few weeks of cutting. I think I was making fun of myself for taking forever, or at least feeling like this project is taking forever (or maybe I should say my wife and kids think this project is taking forever). It is not a race and you should be able to do it in your own pace. I just didn't want to give the illusion that this was a couple week project (for most people).
-John, you oven is looking great by the way

Mike