progress report

We've moved into the not-so-enjoyable part of oven building. There are lots of smaller, somewhat tedious projects going on these days. Not all of it is so straightforward, as Nate's figuring it all out as he goes along. Sometimes he spends a day changing or re-doing what he did the day before, so not all days feel like accomplishments. He's doing an amazing job hanging in there, and we're so proud of him.

The core of the oven is finished. Before the frame gets added, Nate wrapped the oven in 2 layers of 3mm ceramic fiber "paper" resulting in 1/4 inch of insulation between the oven and the frame. This will help reduce the amount of heat conducting out to and through the steel frame.

Frame added and tack-welded.

Cutting out parts for the ash drop.

Ash drop in place.

Refractory concrete poured around what will be the damper that stops steam from going up the chimney. We want the steam to stay in the oven because that's what gives bread a great crust.

The damper assembly. It will slide open and closed.

After making the chimney transition, Nate attached the anchor plate and filled it with refractory concrete and added the chimney.

There it is, chimney on!

Now you can see how the damper assembly fits in with the chimney housing.

And now, the baking door. This has been the most complicated and frustrating part so far, but it's finally coming together. There will be two flapper doors, each about 10 inches high by 24 inches wide. To open them we'll just push a peel through the door that will be hinged at the bottom. When we pull the peel back out, the door will spring closed and keep the steam and heat inside the oven during baking.

More detail of the door assembly.

Next up, steel flapper doors.