Uncle Al's dome cutting technique.

[brickie in oz]

Castable is the way to go, its much easier and saves a lot of time.

[david s]

This would probably work better if you laid the bricks in a continuing spiral, but you still end up with bricks nearer the top having to try and fit into an ever decreasing diameter which means altered angles on the cuts of the sides of the bricks or alternatively bigger gaps to fill. Actually if it were possible, a brick cut into a cone section would fit better. Personally I prefer casting.

[Cheesesteak]

Originally Posted by brickie in oz

One brick cut as shown should do the entire dome as long as the dome is hemispherical, add soldiers to the base and it will change unless the soldiers are equal to two courses.

The same cut wont work for the entire dome because the diameter gets smaller with every course. The cuts on the "top" and "bottom" of the brick are consistent - because of the 19" arch radius (measured from the floor) - but the side cuts will change with each course.

Picture one course @ 19" R; one @ 17"; one @ 15" R, and so on until the close in at the top.