Author Topic: My new oven (Read 9241 times)

Matthew · « **on:** April 08, 2009, 06:09:02 PM »

Hi All,
Just wanted to post a picture of my new oven. I took the picture with my iphone which doesn't have a zoom & I couldn't get much closer because of all the mud. I'll take some more pictures once I start the build.

Matt

JConk007 · « **Reply #1 on:** April 08, 2009, 08:48:14 PM »

Cool! what kind is it? how big? wheres the chimney go? I know just wait but the suspense is killin me!
Congrats and enjoy!
John

Matthew · « **Reply #2 on:** April 08, 2009, 10:24:08 PM »

Quote from: JConk007 on April 08, 2009, 08:48:14 PM

Cool! what kind is it? how big? wheres the chimney go? I know just wait but the suspense is killin me!
Congrats and enjoy!
John

Hey John,
It's hand made from firebrick & imported from Portugal (weighs about 600kg's). I'm not positive on the interior diameter, but the exterior diameter is 48". The vent will be located in front of the oven door & will be custom cast in concrete. I am going to get some help from a friend of mine by the name of Jim Wills (he is a member of this forum & goes by the name "Canuck Jim"). Jim, is a master oven builder & The owner of Mary G's Artisan breads. He is also the author of the Pompeii oven ebook found on the Forno Bravo Website.

JConk007 · « **Reply #3 on:** April 09, 2009, 12:02:31 PM »

Matthew,
Well it sounds like you have some Fine help on your side. Thats a pleasure for sure. I kinda struggled with many aspect of my build but some how got thru it.
Looks like a great size, not exactly low flat dome, but very well insulated with plenty of thermal mass at 1,322 pounds! awesome!
So whats the ETF (estimated time of first firing) on this bad boy?
Looks like you have some other things going on there as well. Will this be the finished exterior or will it be framed into some type of enclosure? just curious sorry for all the ?s I can say this

Happy times are on the way!

John

Matthew · « **Reply #4 on:** April 09, 2009, 01:31:38 PM »

Quote from: JConk007 on April 09, 2009, 12:02:31 PM

Matthew,
Well it sounds like you have some Fine help on your side. Thats a pleasure for sure. I kinda struggled with many aspect of my build but some how got thru it.
Looks like a great size, not exactly low flat dome, but very well insulated with plenty of thermal mass at 1,322 pounds! awesome!
So whats the ETF (estimated time of first firing) on this bad boy?
Looks like you have some other things going on there as well. Will this be the finished exterior or will it be framed into some type of enclosure? just curious sorry for all the ?s I can say this

Happy times are on the way!
John

John,
It's not insulated as of yet, what use see is a layer of just parging over the brick. The dome is actually alot lower on the inside & looks deceivingly high from the outside due to the thickness of the brick & a pretty thick layer of parging. The oven is going to sit on an aluminum stand that I'm having fabricated that will be bolted to the concrete foundation. The base of the stand will have a door so that I can store wood, tools, etc. It is also being fabricated in a way that it can be easily moved with a forklift should I decide to move. I'm waiting to hear back from the fabricator on whether or not he can build the top of the stand so that it is solid enough to support the oven to eliminate the need for a concrete slab. Either way there be a layer of 2" thick high heat insulation board between the slab/top of stand & the hearth (to insulate the hearth & also to protect it from the winter frost). The stand will also accommodate a front landing shelf which will likely be granite. As far as the dome insulation goes, there will be 3'' of durablanket all the way around & then an additional 3" of Matrilite as a castable insulator. It's going to be igloo shaped & finished in stucco. It will look similar to the Forno Bravo Primavera 70 once it's complete, only much bigger. I'm hoping to start with the foundation slab very soon, the hold up is the stand, he can't do it before next month. I'm guessing that it should be complete at the latest by the end of May then it needs to dry for about a week after that. Then it should be ready to cure.

I'll post pics of my progress.

Matt

JConk007 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 09, 2009, 02:23:54 PM »

Great! as I said Matthew, It looks like a serious oven. I like the height, nice and thick all around, seems like it a lot more than the Fornos, earthstones by weight alone I sure it will give you years of pleasure. Bet you cant wait. I have a lot of Portuguese employees ( some masons) who work for me, so I know how they work and take pride in the product. I am sure the quality is above and beyond. shipping? Mine goes with the house when I move out thats for sure!

Well, I know I can allways build it again bigger, and better, should the need arise
John

Matthew · « **Reply #6 on:** April 19, 2009, 04:07:36 PM »

Quote from: JConk007 on April 09, 2009, 12:02:31 PM

Looks like a great size, not exactly low flat dome, but very well insulated with plenty of thermal mass at 1,322 pounds! awesome!

John

John,
Had the oven delivered this morning. I must say; pretty cool! To answer your previous questions; the cooking floor diameter is 43.5" & the internal dome height is 24". Excellent craftsmanship all around, very well built. Construction starts next Saturday.

Matt

Matthew · « **Reply #7 on:** April 26, 2009, 07:10:33 AM »

Quote from: Matthew on April 19, 2009, 04:07:36 PM

John,
Had the oven delivered this morning. I must say; pretty cool! To answer your previous questions; the cooking floor diameter is 43.5" & the internal dome height is 24". Excellent craftsmanship all around, very well built. Construction starts next Saturday.

Matt

Phase 1:

We poured the concrete slab yesterday morning. I had some help from my brother in law & a good friend who's a concrete finisher by trade. We got some pretty fantastic concrete & he did a great job finishing it; it looked like a sheet of ice. Too bad most of it is going to be covered. I know that that's alot of rebar, but I prefer to overbuild rather than underbuild. The stand should be ready by next week.

TronCarter · « **Reply #8 on:** April 28, 2009, 09:25:30 AM »

Matt,

That looks like a really cool project. I hope that you keep posting pictures of every step of the process. I really enjoy seeing how things like this go together. Looks great so far.

Matthew · « **Reply #9 on:** April 28, 2009, 09:33:45 AM »

Quote from: TronCarter on April 28, 2009, 09:25:30 AM

Matt,

That looks like a really cool project. I hope that you keep posting pictures of every step of the process. I really enjoy seeing how things like this go together. Looks great so far.

Ya, It's alot of work & alot of fun. I'll definitely keep posting pictures at every stage.

Matthew · « **Reply #10 on:** May 11, 2009, 06:42:02 PM »

Well, it took some time but the stand is finally complete & ready for primer & paint.

PizzaHog · « **Reply #11 on:** May 11, 2009, 07:02:16 PM »

Extremely cool, Matt!
Looks like a very well designed, durable and quality build. It's great to see it thru all the steps and can't wait to see it finished, especially with the stucco and marble. Sweet!
I'll be clearing my schedule in case you decide to host a forum pizza party

.

Essen1 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 11, 2009, 07:36:52 PM »

Matt,

That looks fantastic so far. Great progress you're making.

Can't wait to see the next batch of pics. Keep it up, bro!

Matthew · « **Reply #13 on:** May 11, 2009, 08:00:23 PM »

Thanks alot guys. I really appreciate the kind words. It's definitely one heavy duty stand. It was fabricated in my backyard out of 2x2x1/4" steel tubing & weighs in excess of 800lbs. I had him weld a steel plate on the top so that I don't have to pour a concrete slab.

Matt

JConk007 · « **Reply #14 on:** May 11, 2009, 10:25:58 PM »

I am curious of cost of that great stand vs. me doing course after course of block. In NJ I started 3 ft below grade frost line too! So it was a considrable amount of work to get up to the level your stand shows and probably a lot more time How long did the welder take? 1 day?
How will you attach material finish around and above the stand? Dura rock and stucco? Also what insulation goes between the metal and the floor of you oven with no concrete? some type of board or blanket? Sorry for the questions but I have been through it and its great to see an oven come together from someone who I know will make all good things from it!
Cant wait for fire its getting close!
John

Matthew · « **Reply #15 on:** May 12, 2009, 06:37:52 AM »

Quote from: JConk007 on May 11, 2009, 10:25:58 PM

I am curious of cost of that great stand vs. me doing course after course of block. In NJ I started 3 ft below grade frost line too! So it was a considrable amount of work to get up to the level your stand shows and probably a lot more time How long did the welder take? 1 day?
How will you attach material finish around and above the stand? Dura rock and stucco? Also what insulation goes between the metal and the floor of you oven with no concrete? some type of board or blanket? Sorry for the questions but I have been through it and its great to see an oven come together from someone who I know will make all good things from it!
Cant wait for fire its getting close!
John

Hey John,
No need to apologize bud; we are all here to learn something & improve our methods so I'm more than happy to answer.
The stand took a couple of days to fabricate. The intent of the metal stand was to make the oven portable should I decide to move. What you don't see on the stand yet are the feet which are made up of steel plates that are predrilled for heavy duty casters. If that doesn't work (because of the weight) I can always use a forklift. I may just paint the stand & leave it as is for now. The other option is cement board & stucco or stone veneer. My oven is prefabricated on a 3 1/2" concrete slab & will sit atop of 2" K-FAC High Heat insulation board. The hard part is going to be liifting the oven onto the stand. $:-\$

Matt

jimd · « **Reply #16 on:** May 12, 2009, 08:32:00 AM »

That really looks great. I especially like the forethought of adding the higher level of steel that presumably will be at the level of the cooking hearth.
I am considering building a clay or refractory concrete oven based upon Kinko Denzer's book on building "cob" ovens, and also wish to use a metal stand rather than laying cinder blocks. I have called a few local blacksmiths/welders, and have not gotten a lot of interest from them in terms of making a similar stand. As an alternative, I have been poking around the net trying to figure out what alternatives there may be. I am thinking about purchasing the componant parts to a "structural rack" that are typically used in warehouses to store pallets. They seem very strong, and can be ordered in different heights to accomodate your design and needs.

Here is a link to a supplier on the net that will give you some idea of what I am thinking about. http://www.steelking.com/documents/PortableRackDesign.pdf

When I get going on this (likely this Fall), I will post pictures assuming it is not a total disaster. (Actually, I will post either way in the event that others can learn from any mistakes I have made.)

Jim

perna · « **Reply #17 on:** May 12, 2009, 08:55:35 AM »

I doubt that buying a rack in a small quantity will be cost effective. Any mobile welder will better suit your needs and be able to build on site and custom design a base cheaper, and it will be exactly what you want. The cost of steel now is very high so a cinderblock/brick DIY base would probably end up cheaper and just as good of a base. You can also look at used brick which is cheaper and possibly found for free but needs a bit of cleaning up.

JConk007 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 12, 2009, 09:18:30 AM »

Matthew,thanks for the PM Thats the cool part, its portable! So you could have done a Saunter tube for each leg right? My oven will be there long after my house which was built in 1976. If you look you can see the conc. slab that your oven is built on, my bad. Plus the 2" board. I assume that is the manufactures recommendations. And Nothing is needed around the shell right? Really Its just a matter of putting the oven on stand and light it up? Or you have to fish chimney first? Will the support arch for chimney sit on the raised shelf?
Keep er goin!
Have you decided on a dough formulation for the first batch ? or lets get this thing done first.

Perna is right, if they wont sell a single rack .
The cost for Matthews custom stand (Not sure of the labor market where Matt is located) came out substantially less than my block work Not neccesarily material wise but when you add in the time and effort to build up all the courses, mixing clean up... and the slab. I would go with a custom built stand if not going block as he did and you know its the right application,
John

Matthew · « **Reply #19 on:** May 12, 2009, 07:25:23 PM »

Quote from: PizzaHog on May 11, 2009, 07:02:16 PM

I'll be clearing my schedule in case you decide to host a forum pizza party .

No Problem at all! Cross the border & come on by.

Matt