Wood burning oven: building plans,
instructions, tutorial with pictures.

Building 'Swishy wood pizza oven', page 3

You can build your oven the same size as this one or, by adding in or taking off a brick or two from a side, you can freely change its proportions to what better suits you. It's as simple as 'Lego', all is done on the brick count. The same with the outside oven decoration, express your creativity there too. BUT, the oven described in this tutorial makes a perfect home wood burning oven anyone would swim a river full of crocodiles for.

Not much measuring goes around except for marking lines on the ground concrete slab to start with raising of the inner and outer brick/block walls upwards. All is done mainly on the initial brick count. Measurements are in both, in Inches and Metric.

Main size:
Total ground surface area: 65" x 79.5" OR 1655mm x 2020mm
Internal dome size: 82cm wide x 92cm deep OR 32" wide x 36" deep
(add up to 4" or 10cm extra to the depth internally, entry throat.)

A wood burning oven built to last for generations, with a firebrick dome which won't peel or crack down the road, and without error in its design. All it takes to build a better quality oven at home is a little extra effort over a fast built wood oven. Even if it's your first, if you are into it and build slowly like me, you'll find wood oven building a good fun.

Have you looked for a spot where to put the oven? Make it a main feature of the area so people see it!

Would it help me to build a simpler oven ?

Understanding and having in hand the technical tasks and design for this oven allows you to adopt building stages separately and juggle them around any way you want. You can take the dome and build it low set in your garden on the ground giving it only a render finish on top or have it inside your house. The same goes for the chimney or arched brick work.

If you'd like to own this oven, the cd is clear to DIY but if you have no time to build make me an offer and we consult the job further.
I will be delighted to hear any suggestions that you may have.

Oven building 370 small pictures, sequence part from the CDrom WorkShop (and MTo design has 1000+ long sequence).
*EDIT: Jun 20th 2012
The Download option is here ... more details are further below.

Would you like more?

OK, relax. Until this site is on a better server a complete WorkShop on CDrom is available. If also the second Masterly Tail oven design is posted to you (MTo), then both folders arrive in your place on one DVD disk (instead of 2 cd's). Place it in your computer drive and it will open.

What is on the cd ?

Each of these original 370 photographs is large, 72cm x 54cm (28.35" x 21.26") and of ~1.4MB printing quality, you can zoom in for any tiny details. The whole cd has about 500MB. You will be able to slide show each building stage on your screen (both PC or Apple Mac) to find out about and see clearly what you may have thought was tricky for building, and this will take you right to the building time.
The same for second MTo design; it includes 1000+ images sequence, its firebrick part and other non-refractory features are very popular among oven users and builders. And the fresh 3G compact MTo sequence is even larger. Get all 3 designs to see them first.

More description of content is below:

1. * Precise multiple angle details show you each building stage clearly. Every aspect is covered, from founding the spot and the ground work, how to go about the base concrete slab, rising the walls technique and building bricks handling, reinforcing and pouring the concrete slab for the hearth slab, making the dome with chimney through to the finishing the roof.
2. * Placing hearth floor bricks on the concrete slab, forming hearth.
3. * Brick by brick photos to create firing dome using a wooden template and how to make this template. Refractory mortar on firebricks application.
4. * Every angle of the flue and explaining how to construct the chimney. A to Z from the first chimney brick to last chimney brick - with internal focus shots as well. It is important when you build the oven to make the flue vent with the chimney correctly as they draw off and direct the exhaust smoke. Well designed ovens can be built and used in a freshly white bedrooms, with no danger of smoke getting into the room, and that applies to this oven too.
5. * Dome chamber and entry door construction, you will notice important door height to dome height (vault) ratio measurements for proper fire burning and efficiency.
6. * Outside arch decorations and how to make the important gap space between the dome and outside skin walls with the entry deco arch to avoid cracking! Roof construction, a good design look!
7. * Thorough list of required materials being used with quantity number for each to assist you with material collecting/purchasing before you start to build the oven. (when ordering, order all at ones to save bucks, time, energy)
8. * Refractory Mortar mix ingredients and recipes for joining the dome firebricks, you'll make every mix yourself easy.
9. Mix for so called 'clay sand bed' on which you place the hearth firebricks to nicely level them up.
10. * Back up heat insulation recipe and application for an evenly heated oven and efficient long cooking time. Or ask me for another 'trade secret recipe' when building.
11. * Drawings, diagrams with measurements for raising both- outside building brick and inside dry-stacked cement block walls and the hearth slab. Basically it's a full workshop. Don't worry there is not much measuring going on, all is done mainly on the initial brick count line marked on the ground slab, from there all is only risen upwards.

._._._._._._._._._._._..:: AND QUALITY ? ::.._._._._._._._._._._.
I answer this with another question. Have you seen the details on the Queensland houses I make or what do you think about this website? If you go into building yourself, you will find my help very useful. Then after building think of this website again, email us photo(s) of your oven when cooking, many people find them very needing.

How much does it cost? And how can I give something back?

Content on this cd is free to follow for building your ovens. The information published were to suit the needs of my site's visitors and this is my way of sharing it with you. Happy? I bet you are.

But hey Rado, this sounds too good to be true mate, .....you know? So, what do we need to do to get hold of the cd with all the details of making a wood fired oven?

Read 3 steps below.

Step 1

To post this WorkShop on CDrom to you, a protective cd-mailer box, postage charge and the cd itself cost me:
overseas - 6.50
within Australia - 5.00
I need you to cover my expenses by sending some bucks with your postal address to my address below. Before you do go to step 2. If you think I am crazy, you haven't gone through step 2 yet.

Step 2

Tutorials, Wood Burning Ovens with this website is my true passion, I give it freely for anyone on this planet and beyond. Maybe you recon a good idea would be to support traditionaloven.com operation and development, or if you are so moved or inspired by it, please add some extra amount of money as a donation or get me something from my wish list. Contribution is certainly not required, but it would make me very happy;
About this website: I've put an immense amount of work into this subject, and this really helps me feel like the website's content and it's program's existence (and unconditionally free and open source availability) is valued.
Plus, an extra donation—25 minimum or anything on my wish list—will get you cd with building WorkShop Log additions** and on your request added to the Donator Site List and have your link seen by hundreds of people a day*.
(Supporting with 30 bucks automatically posts to anyone in addition also my new/second Masterly Tail oven design cd ← more details. Work on the MTo firebrick part design plus non refractory features design is very very popular among oven users and builders. I'm making MTo's pages during evenings they're not finished yet due to contracts but with other members we uploaded a few pictures around the site. And for consulting related building matters or sharing pictures you are of course most welcome to email me (if you had e.g. special decoration, modification, personal and unique project questions.)

Overseas builders /G'day/
Simply put your currency notes in an envelope. The bank charges me ex. fee but it's not so bad. Send the letter by airmail (letter stamp will cost you only 1buck and 10 cents.) Please no overseas cheques or money orders (10 bucks bank fee per each check deposited, sometimes the world is still too big.) For PayPal option slide to the bottom - and don't forget to write in your postal address for posting the CD, of course by airmail :-)

Aussie builders /how-r-ya/
Put money notes in the envelope, we can get a way with this. Personal cheques write to "KangaRado Hand" (it's my company). For Au. net transfer option or direct deposit at Commonwealth Bank branch here are my bank account details. If you prefer PayPal option slide to the bottom - and of course your postal address ;-)

* DOWNLOADING Everything
Download option is available (and preferred). Minimally I check transfers in morning and evening hours, or more often. While at PayPal simply type me a message "I prefer downloading it" or "email me the download links" or something along the lines and I will send it promptly. Links are being emailed - instead of only packing disks, after 9 years of posting via Postal systems!
Secondly; in the email from me with the download link(s) you will find another link - in addition - for a new oven design I call 3rd gen. MTo (it has the same MTo firebrick part, performance, but this one has the whole outside walls built from dry-stack cinder blocks, filled with concrete. It can be deco rendered, stuccoed or mosaic tiled.) It is a beautiful compact structure which took me one year to design/calculate and test until everything fit together spot on. Again, like when building with LEGO - fast progress plus very effective work. The oven suits any serious heavy cooking and entertaining, for business or for any family usage and also it is suitable structure for cold climates. As I said, it's based on my Masterly Tail oven design, you'll Enjoy it.

Step 3

After dropping the mail in post for me or after using PayPal option below, 'lay-back' relaxed and unworried, this site is active and growing. You don't have to notify me about sending me your order. Perhaps you'll feel like dropping me a line, and of course why not—regardless—your download links or CD will arrive at your address promptly according to the destination.

Oven building 370 small pictures, sequence part from the CDrom WorkShop (and MTo design has 1000+ long sequence).

*Please note that your URL link, name/nick or email can be added onto the list only on your request for me to do it. I also reserve the right not to list names, sites containing words, material I consider to be inappropriate here (pornographic sites, hate speech, etc.)

**Additional if in need:
For those who can't buy all materials, don't worry;
If for any reason you would like to know what other materials can be used to build wood oven, in the letter just mention to me "The Equivalent Materials and Sources with Photographs" and it'll be included for you on your cdrom. E.g. I suggest to you heat insulation I use which is much cheaper and easier to get and has better properties than Vermiculite. Same for fireclays sources for making mortar and sand-clay bed. Or similar materials to replace firebricks to construct strong dome, more insulations, refractory mortars, there are variety of options. In description of my cd content above I mention a trade secret heat insulation, guess what's bizarre, only few people ever asked me for it. One of them sent me present, all the way from Tasmania.
Old masters 'wood brick oven craft ers' used it and now it's forgotten. Ovens built by them long time ago still bake breads or make pizzas. There are several pictures of such ovens in the 'Ovens Photo Gallery'. Refractory cements, untested like many new health remedies, were not around those days.

This building guide will make you to build your quality ovens. Everything is in it, you'll know ahead clearly what you'll do in each building day or stage and gets you up and running in no time.

Please use my postal address for any mail for me:

Rado Hand
PO Box 349
The Gap, Queensland 4061
Australia

phone: (07) 3300 0048
overseas callers: +61 7 3300 0048

Skype ID: radohand

Why should I give something back?

Thank you and,

Enjoy.

Rado

Hoy, sliding today, ... aren't we?!

PayPal handles the transfer for you free of fees, basically I pay those. You will have option to write me a short note in provided text box, it'll be attached in the email for me (e.g. "Rado, we will email you a photo of our wood oven when cooking." etc.), write in whether you want to download everything, or your shipping address!
* Promptly I will replay back to you with my confirmation email I send out to people which will include the download link(s) OR info about the cd's being posted (plus, of course, my further thank you!)
** If you'd like to make any changes - you can also reply to your confirmation email from PayPal, it has/uses my recipient email address.

With my PayPal Business Account I can very easily send or accept payments online. It makes posting cd's half-way faster. No need to register to send but for receiving CC's payments or to become a merchant best are Premier (personal) or Business accounts. They are free and easy to set up worldwide, wire with own home bank acc., and with tools for quick website implementations or in email, safe for managing any business.