And the fun begins!

[Breven]

After months of hard work builidng the adjoining outdoor kitchen, stand and hearth, I couldn't wait to get started on the floor & dome. I've attached some pics of the progress. I printed the FB instructions, along with photo's of some of the other ovens in progress here to use as a guide. Not having any experience with brick at all, I found it to be quite a challenge. I tried to start with the arch first, but as soon as I added the second brick, the arch tower started to fall. I decided to mortar in the soldier course and let the arch towers dry before begining the arch. It worked. A couple of bricks didn't line up very well on the arch, but my grinder fixed that! I made a dome guide from a peice of plywood ( I think I saw that on one of Les's pics?) and it seemed to work well with the second course. I don't think this is going to be perfect, but if it stays standing, I'll be happy!

[Les]

Breven - the guide does look a bit like mine It's called the BS (board system). I drilled a small hole in the center of the oven and attached a pin to the BS. That allowed me to spin it around as I worked and keep the same circumference. As I went up on the courses, I kept notching the guide to keep it clear. If you get off as little as 1/32 of an inch it would hang.

Good luck with your build - you are well on your way.

Les...

[Breven]

Oh, that's how you did that? I didn't realize that you had it secured to the middle. I just eyeballed it as I moved it around. I'm realizing that I don't think mine is going to be perfect. I just don't have the patience.
I've got all you pics printed, they've been really helpful. Thanks!
One question...my floor is a little off. I have quite a few high seems. I can grind them down, but it won't be very smooth...any ideas how to sand it down?

[Les]

As others have done - I used a belt sander. I bought the cheapest 40 grit belts I could find. I probably went through 3 or 4. I would do it before you get much higher so the walls don't get in your way.

Les...

[Breven]

I thought about that but figured regular old sandpaper wouldn't work.
I'll give it a try tonight. Thanks for the tip.

[George T]

Breven, Another alternative to the form is to layout the profile of the dome on a board and simply measure the distance to the floor from the top edge of the course you are laying. I then marked that on a stick that I held perpendicular to the brick I was laying to make sure that I was fairly close. the top of my dome came out right at 20" on my 42".

[Breven]

Gotcha George. That makes sense, sounds easy too.