Bread/pizza oven thread

wes w · Nov 22, 2014

Moikel said:
http://mha-net.org/docs/v8n2/wildac07b.htm

Found it finally.

This is where to go to see how the are built by teams of masons .A great resource lots of step by step builds ,photos,plans ,advice etc.

Its great for you ,dirt sailor ,big jim,et al because its in your country. You can see all sorts of versions of ovens.

Thats the barrel idea which is a way faster build.

The bar top is bit of Australian red cedar ,cut north south about 2'' thick. 9 feet long. Its all locked up now you can't buy it as finished timber it was logged to the point of almost no return in the 1800s . Wonderful furniture timber. That was from a tree on private property, cut years ago & warehoused.I sanded it back ,filled the knot holes ,oiled it ,buffed it.Then sat it on that plinth of convict bricks.

I've been going through this site this morning. There is tons of information just in the pictures. Thanks for taking the time to look it up.

I think this is the inspiration I needed to start digging. After reading and seeing results, I think I like the barrel type better too. A a lot simpler to build also. Thanks again for the link

moikel · Nov 22, 2014

Wes W said:
I've been going through this site this morning. There is tons of information just in the pictures. Thanks for taking the time to look it up.

I think this is the inspiration I needed to start digging. After reading and seeing results, I think I like the barrel type better too. A a lot simpler to build also. Thanks again for the link

Your welcome.The photo set outs make things much clearer,picture = 1000 words etc.

I know how long it took me to build mine & all the cutting ,shaping & cursing to neck down the vault to the door.

That barrel build looks just so much quicker,that angle support for the opening in the arch is a great idea.Gives you a door 18''+ wide.

I assume you would cover the brick in several layers of heavy duty foil then sit a metal cage over it but not touching then pour a concrete block over it for insulation.Outside veneer in regular brick fill void with vermiculite.OR you could mix the right heat conducting cement & plaster it.

300 firebricks is a lot but what can you do.It is a good size oven.

JckDanls 07 · Nov 22, 2014

Here's another link for brick smokers... hopefully your computer will translate it.. otherwise as was said.. a picture is worth a thousand words... you may have seen this already as it was posted here on SMF a while ago... some pretty nice builds...

http://wedlinydomowe.pl/budowa-wedzarni-i-wedzenie/budowa-wedzarni

wes w · Nov 23, 2014

I hope everyone is having a good day

The more I read up on the barrel oven the more I like it. The only design flaw I see is the steel angle that carries the flue opening. Does anyone have any ideas what a person could use other then steel? My concern is when this piece of steel gets hot it will crack the enter dome. Maybe a way to give it room to move or something different that would carry the load. I am aware that masonry will carry its own weight once cured, but it still needs some sort of support.

308.JPG

wes w
Nov 23, 2014

moikel · Nov 23, 2014

I have angle in mine in the same place,more or less,no trouble that I know of.

Cracks are only really going to hurt you if they are in the joint & then in whatever you use as insulation/thermal mass.

Thats a good photo ,is that oven somewhere commercial?Its on a proper hearth so its not a show & tell demo build.

Very neat bricklaying. What did they put over the brick ?

wes w · Nov 23, 2014

Moikel said:
I have angle in mine in the same place,more or less,no trouble that I know of.

Cracks are only really going to hurt you if they are in the joint & then in whatever you use as insulation/thermal mass.

Thats a good photo ,is that oven somewhere commercial?Its on a proper hearth so its not a show & tell demo build.

Very neat bricklaying. What did they put over the brick ?

I got it from the site you posted. They don't give a lot of detail, but have several photos to look at. The site is kinda like a group. Best I can tell they come together once a year for a meeting. They do masonry heater type stuff. They throw different ovens together with clay. Make pizza and tear them down when done and reuse the material next time. LOL, in one of the photos, there was a lady washing the access clay off as they went. :-) The one in the picture has the same precast ends and entrance as the link. Best I can tell the owner of the link is part of the assoc. Edit: The base is just dry stacked block with what looks like 4" angle carrying the span of block. It is some what of a demo. No cover in what they do on the site.

Here is a link from that site where you can buy the precast ends and entrance. I really like this oven. lots of detail on this link.

http://www.stovemaster.com/html_en/Semi_pre_cast_Brick_Ovens.html

moikel · Nov 23, 2014

Back when I built mine I got a lot of help from looking at those group builds,photo by photo. But they never get past the brick stage

I can't get pre cast here I would have to cast it myself which is unlikely.

That barrel shape looks the business,means maybe 50 bricks or so cut in half to get the bond ,but once you have that done you could lay it up pretty quick because its all the arch at once . I assume you get to the peak & shape the keystone bricks to spread the load.back down the arch. Wide door an advantage for big pans with small pigs in them

moikel · Nov 23, 2014

I think those angle & block bases are just for demo .

I see they have double brick for the hearth.I am not sure how the cost works out but I would still pour a hearth slab then the firebrick onto that ,thin bed of fireclay & sand.No joints.

My slab has a 2'' vermiculite base.On the plywood form ,bang in old fashioned mushroom head nails on angle,pour mix of cement,water & vermiculite half way up nails then when that sets pour the slab. Stops the under floor part of the oven getting to hot.

My hearth was like a pool table thanks to my carpenter friend .

Great site but that precast aint cheap.

Fire bricks turn up 2nd hand here probably even more so in the USA given your climate.

There are a stack in the shed at my 90 year old Aunty's place back in the country from the furnace that ran the hospital. Apparently all sorts of curved & angled bricks.My Uncle brought them home from the building site ,who knows when.

I really like that barrel shaped oven.

I will go with that design whenever I get to it.

knuckle47 · Jun 13, 2015

Well Moikel, I didn't expect to run into you here or even that you were into the pizza ovens. I'd been planning on building one for the last 2 yrs. found a guy down your way...Rado Pizza Ovens. Have his plans on the table for the last several months but as I get older, mixing 70-80 bags of concrete no longer seems realistic. I did not even think to look on the site for anyone who might have built one.

Dirt sailor, same goes for you too....we'd run into each other with cold smoking cheeses. Small world as they say

If I can get things rolling before the cold weather in November, I guess I can pull it off. Here's hoping.

Good to see you guys here

moikel · Jun 14, 2015

Happy to help.I am still keen to build one at my weekender but its the grunt work thats challenging. I have enough external bricks scrounged for nothing ,its the fire brick that hurts.

I do like that barrel design & it looks easier to build .I got a bit fussy with my first build & I think the next one will be a bit more organic( rough & ready)

.

I can lay bricks but I am slow.

I saw them in little villages in Italy thrown together with volcanic rock,you can get a bit home beautiful won't make the food any tastier.

New one went in last month in a restaurant in my 'hood,traditional brick,circular & big maybe 6 feet diameter. Pizza is outstanding.

I have been taking bacon to the pizza chef I am going to pick his brains to see the best way forward. There was a lot of brick cutting & shaping involved in his build.Purists swear by brick over the terracotta prefab .I have some big beef tongues in brine as of today .I am going to check out an upmarket restaurant in the city with 2 side by side ovens The smoked beef tongue should get me a few build pointers.

moikel · Jun 14, 2015

http://www.firedoor.com.au

Steel doors on pulleys,some things cooked in the oven others over coals taken from the oven to run the grills.

I just need to get there before they fire up for the day to get the lowdown.

Chef was major player in the actual build,he knows quite a bit across the range of skills involved not just cooking.

wes w · Jun 15, 2015

Mick, I love your country! I'd love to visit or even live there, but I'm afraid it will never happen.

My oven is almost complete. I insulated the vault this evening. All I lack is the roof.

For those interested, check out the book, "The Bread Builders" If your looking to make bread. Its not a recipe book, its goes into detail as to the fermentation of bread. Natural fermentation. Half of the book is also a how to build a brick oven. A good read from two experts.

Our youngest son is getting out of the Marines this week. My rush to complete my oven is for a pizza party on the 27Th. The oven is cured and has been used, but I want to have it completed for the party.

I'll be post how I built my oven soon. If you follow my Face book page, I've given a progress report, but the how to will be much more detail.

I know this is a smoking site, but it seens we have a great interest in brick ovens. You can do so much with a brick oven. Its not just pizza, its a total kitchen. Oh, and some of the best bread we could ever think of ever making.

Cheers!

moikel · Jun 15, 2015

My oven is built from that book. When I went to fire door to see if I could get a look at the ovens & ended up talking to the chef, I mentioned my oven.Straight away he said is it an Alan Scott? He was a bit of a pioneer,blacksmith by trade before he started building ovens, writing books & making bread.

They are a multi purpose thing.I do like the idea of pulling coals out to grill over .

My mate Carlo now nudging 70 & most of his life as a butcher tells me the secret to pizza dough is to use lard instead of oil in the dough. He said when he was a kid in Italy thats what the "old school "guys used. I can't say myself but he knows his food.

You are right about the bread.When you see those old ovens in little villages in Europe you wonder just how many loaves they have made over the years.

knuckle47 · Jun 15, 2015

Wes, I've read all of your posts also. Who would have thought the draw to these ovens was so srptrong. As I mentioned. Mine is going two yrs of planning and research gathering. Once I turned 59 I started t see things really change . I build all of my own smokers so that has helped yet bricks appear to have more weight than steel...ha

moikel · Jun 16, 2015

knuckle47 said:
Well Moikel, I didn't expect to run into you here or even that you were into the pizza ovens. I'd been planning on building one for the last 2 yrs. found a guy down your way...Rado Pizza Ovens. Have his plans on the table for the last several months but as I get older, mixing 70-80 bags of concrete no longer seems realistic. I did not even think to look on the site for anyone who might have built one.

Dirt sailor, same goes for you too....we'd run into each other with cold smoking cheeses. Small world as they say

If I can get things rolling before the cold weather in November, I guess I can pull it off. Here's hoping.

Good to see you guys here

Funny thing was I was thinking of you last week after a mate if mine told me he bought a 1941 knuckle head out a shed in Outback Queensland. One previous owner ,bought from his estate , he is restoring it now. Exchange rate hurting now our dollar is worth 78 cents US so parts are expensive .

knuckle47 · Jun 16, 2015

Well that is very cool. I have done several knuckleheads from 39 to 47. 1941 is a war era model and may lack some components like rubber floor boards or the conventional – panel in lieu of limited resources for rubber and certain metals being rationed during that time. Additionally from what I have read is that in order to acquire a motorcycle like this during the war you may have had to have made a specific request possibly through military or government channels. Of course it is more than 70 years later and the stories get changed a little with passing time.

I envy your friend as that was one of the most enjoyable times of my life. My 1947 FL was purchased from its original owner who bought it new in 1946 used it for many years and left it in his shed in Pennsylvania. This was a beauty of course it was 50 years old when I got it but a new battery, oil change, and carburetor rebuild enabled it to start on the second kick every time.

I do not believe I have many knuckle parts lying around anymore but I understand how the cost can be prohibitive especially now. I have friends that are older than I was in 1960 and they tell me stories of their families throwing out the junk in their yard with complete motorcycles, sidecars, or boxes of parts. Literally makes me drool.

My greatest claim to fame was restoring a 1925 Henderson deluxe four-cylinder in-line. Several of these motorcycles are in one of the albums I have posted here on this website Your friend may enjoy seeing them. And if by any means he should need any information or sources for materials, I would be glad to oblige. I think I still have a copy of a 1940s parts book and service guide. They were reproductions 20 years ago but they are original copies and accurate.

Thank you for that little insight into my past. Brings back a big pile of memory

AMCOA019.jpg

knuckle47
Jun 16, 2015

1947 Harley Davidson FL.jpg

knuckle47
Jun 16, 2015

1925 Henderson 1995.jpg

knuckle47
Jun 16, 2015

OK Thats me in the middle black t shirt (ha)

1952 Harley Davidson FL Sidecar.jpg

knuckle47
Jun 16, 2015

dirtsailor2003 · Jun 16, 2015

Wes W said:
Mick, I love your country! I'd love to visit or even live there, but I'm afraid it will never happen.

My oven is almost complete. I insulated the vault this evening. All I lack is the roof.

For those interested, check out the book, "The Bread Builders" If your looking to make bread. Its not a recipe book, its goes into detail as to the fermentation of bread. Natural fermentation. Half of the book is also a how to build a brick oven. A good read from two experts.

Our youngest son is getting out of the Marines this week. My rush to complete my oven is for a pizza party on the 27Th. The oven is cured and has been used, but I want to have it completed for the party.

I'll be post how I built my oven soon. If you follow my Face book page, I've given a progress report, but the how to will be much more detail.

I know this is a smoking site, but it seens we have a great interest in brick ovens. You can do so much with a brick oven. Its not just pizza, its a total kitchen. Oh, and some of the best bread we could ever think of ever making.

Cheers!

Can't wait to see some photos Wes! Especially of it in use!

mummel · Jun 16, 2015

We had one when I was a kid. I have so many good memories (a lot of bday parties etc). Take a look at those prefabbed dome ones. Thats what we had. Worked perfectly.

moikel · Jun 17, 2015

Knuckle 47 I will give him a call to see where he is at. He has restored some Harleys before but this is the Holy Grail.

There were Harleys sold off here after WW2 with the war in the Pacific there were a lot of troops & equipment spread all over the country. Apparently you could buy a bike at army surplus stores.

Being way down here it can be a real mix of things in vintage vehicles,lots of British stuff BSA ,Norton,Triumph,Velocette. They are not my addiction but I do appreciate the classic nature & their place in history.

knuckle47 · Jun 17, 2015

I hear those stories a LOT ! Here is one I had done. RUMOR has it that the Army and Harley Davidson did not reveal any production data so the enemy would have no idea how many bikes were running around Europe

Here's mine.... They even had decapitation rods on them because the Nazis would string fine wire across the roadway but the bikes would have a rod hook on them that guided the wire up the shaft and then cut it..avoid injury to the rider. They used all black out lighting as not to be identified by air recon. The ammo box, turned out to be a good place to keep refreshments. These Serial numbers are all listed with WLA. This is a great running motorcycle

1942 Harley Davidson WLA.jpg

knuckle47
Jun 17, 2015

Setting up a schedule for the backhoe to come a dig the foundation footings next week, if he's free time wise

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