here's a good one

[andrew f]

hey guys my name is Andrew and I'm new here. This website is great, its really fascinating what some people can come up with. Any who, back on track. I think I might have you guys stumped on this one. I'm currently on deployment in the middle east and as a side project my shop would like to build a wood burning oven. Materials, as you can imagine, are quite scarce and very limited. I need help putting together a list of the most primitive materials possible as most if not all will be of recycled building materials I.e. leftover concrete, bricks, wood, metal. Thanks for your help!

[cholme]

I am certainly no expert, but if you are on deployment, I assume you are going to build something to last a couple years and not decades? I know that regular clay bricks can be used, they can withstand decent temperatures, but will get brittle after a while. Cast cement bricks won't work as they are not actually fired... they will crack on the first fire. As for any sort of refractory concrete, you could probably mix in any left over dust/mud from cutting your bricks. In a pinch I don't know why that wouldn't work.

I am sure someone with much more knowledge than I will respond, but I thought I'd put my 2cents in.

Thanks for your service.

Best,

Chris

[Tscarborough]

Use the local mud bricks. Insulation is going to be a bit harder. You want something that is not dense and can take temps better than 500 degrees. Other than that just follow the FB plans.

[dmun]

Equal parts mud and sawdust may be as good as you can do for insulation in a truly primitive location.

I can't believe, however, that a creative member of the US armed forces can't put their hands on some kind of fireblocking material.

[Tman1]

If you're just looking to do pizzas, then look at my thread. No mortar required.

[brickie in oz]

A clean steel drum buried horizontally in a mound of dirt, bricks for the floor to make it level for the pizza, cut the lid out but leave 1/4 of it to go at the top so the flames dont just rush out.

No need for insulation as Im sure the dirt will get hot enough and stay hot for days.

The ground here in Oz gets hot enough in summer to fry an egg on so a buried drum should work with plenty of fire, Im sure you can get plenty of timber pallets to burn.

[david s]

If it's an oil drum, wash it out well before cutting. Many people have been killed by failing to do this.

[wotavidone]

"If it's an oil drum, wash it out well before cutting. Many people have been killed by failing to do this."
It is true that, after my father-in-law welded up a leak in his boat fuel tank, it held about 5 litres more.
He filled it with water and drained it before welding it, but we reckon there was enough water left in the seams to cause a steam explosion. Didn't rupture the tank when it went bang, but afterwards it certainly held more fuel due to the big bulge.

[Forgeblast]

when cutting it, if cutting with a torch, fill it with water. Its a trick people use when cutting propane tanks. There is a book out there making pizza oven with clay called earthbuilders(?) i think.

[azpizzanut]

Hello All,

Here is a caveat in regard to burning pallet lumber. Wood pallets used for shipping goods from one country to another may be treated with methyl bromide to kill organisms that might be transferred to a new environment. The pallets are stamped with a "MB" logo for identification. You don't want frequent skin contact nor do you want to breathe smoke from burning treated wood. Safe pallets are either unstamped or stamped with "HT" which means they are heat treated.

Interestingly, pallets made for use in Australia are unique to that country due to their size and shape. You can learn a lot about pallets on the internet and how they came to affect world trade.

Cheers,