Door Arch Seal?
So, I'm on my second time trying to build my earth oven [1]. I have a brick arch for the oven and I've (attempted to) cut a wood baking door. The problem is, no matter what I do, it seems that getting a door that fits perfectly in the opening is a huge challenge.
Of course, my arch isn't perfectly curved and the bricks in the arch have little 'nubs' in them in certain places, making it so cutting a perfect door is really difficult. I try to have a tight fitting door but if it's too tight I loosen my arch every time I try to remove it (because it pushes on the arch if I don't remove it perfectly straight)
What I'm wondering is, how tight does this seal around the door really need to be? I know, obviously, the tighter the better, but practically, what do you think? It seems that if I trimmed it so I had no problems getting it in/out I'd have about 1/4" all the way around it.
I'm also wondering if I'm inserting it properly. I just slide it into the opening and it stands up on it's own (it's made from 2x6), not leaning against anything....
Thoughts to improve my door? I may have to recut it after the oven is done this time....