LONG Oven, Door?

[chromo]

Just wondering if anyone has tried a slide up door for a long oven. I see many people mention tall ovens instead of wide ovens. Easier to hang stuff in a tall oven and when dropping something is mentioned the thought seams to be leaning over a top load oven to pick it up is not easy?

I will later want to do a long auto frame, 15-20' I don't think I want to hang in a tall oven. My thought is a long wide oven not too tall. I been trying to figure out a door for it, I am now thinking maybe a full length slide up door raised with a cable winch. Pull door up for a full open side then roll the frame in on a dolly and lower door. Anyone ever tried or seen something like this, any suggestions or Ideas.
If I build this big of oven I may fire it with charcoal in an external firebox and pipe the heat into the oven.

I been planning a 1 of a kind custom T Bucket Roadster type hot rod for many years, I now have almost all the parts and tools to build it now. This will be built on a full size Ford 1/2ton Van steel frame, about 20' long but I have not decided if I will shorten it any just yet.

[defed]

the oven wouldn't be too wide, 6'-8' maybe? you could use a double door, two small doors that meet in the middle and swing out.

maybe a full width door that swings downward like a tailgate? that would depend on thickness as the car frame would have to roll over it somehow to get into the oven, but would probably be a little easier to handle than a swing up door.

i re-read your post and you actually say SLIDE up (not flip up)...extend 2 rails (garage door track?) upward on the ends of the door, and it should be fairly easy to lift it and somehow latch it up...one of those automatic latches that engage when you lift beyond it. depends on what it is made of if you can just lift it up w/ 2 handles or if you would need some sort of lift system.

[chromo]

Yes, the swing open doors on the end were a thought once about 8' wide total for oven. But then I have to roll 20' of frame 20' into the oven. That's a long track/rail to roll a dolly down.

I am also thinking with a long oven and the door on the side I could make fake wall panels to install when I need a long but less than full size oven, like 10' or 15' long.

One of the problems I expect with a slide up door of that length is it may want to bow out away from the oven towards the center. I am thinking something like a flip over arm. Hinge the arm to the top of the oven. When needing to open door flip it back on top of the oven out of the way. When wanting to seal the oven for baking flip arm over closed door. Have a bracket with a Vise type screw and just snug it down quick to press door tight to oven for a good seal. Maybe one per 5' of oven length.

[defed]

i also apparently missed the fact that you wanted the door on the LONG side...even tho you did say that. all of my ideas were for an end door.

i think it would be a good idea to make it 'modular', so in that case you could make (4) 5' door sections, they would be easier to make and handle and allow you to block off the oven in 5' sections.

[BottleFed70]

You are building this oven, just to coat 1 frame?

Wouldn't it be a heck of alot easier and cheaper just to pay a local shop?

[chromo]

I hope to do more than one frame if this works out well.
Open body hot rods like the T bucket roadsters are pretty popular, I see more of those at Swap meets, cruise ins, small shows, etc.. than any other type hot rod other than 55 and 57 Chevy's which are also several everywhere.
Also T-bucket is one of the easiest and perhaps least expensive to build. Parts, kits, etc.. available everywhere for these. Mine will be totally unique, not like the other 400 kits I see with various fancy mods but all but basically the same thing. Mine will be hand built and custom size and body. Still it will be the same general idea, open frame and engine. If it turns out well I'm sure I'll be doing parts like frames for other T-bucket rodders later.

Also I will want to powder coat other long items perhaps, like 20' pipe sections for a windmill tower but not sure about coating those, maybe just paint them?

I had gave thought to a side door in sections like 5' for a long oven. Right not I don't have any idea how I could seal it up tight. For one long door I thought about the flip over screw brackets to draw in the top tight like I mentioned. If 5' sections then I also have to seal the doors next to each other tight. Maybe like in channels. To roll a 20' object into an oven from the side I won't be able to have any supports for doors anywhere down the length blocking the opening.

I may start the frame work for the oven next week or sooner, swapping engines and trannies in several vans right now and hope to get some coating done this weekend in a small oven for small parts.

[defed]

another problem w/ a side door is if the oven is 20' long, the 'header' (top rail of oven wall) would have to be fairly substantial to even support itself over that span. a 20' piece of angle or 1-2" square tubing would probably sag in the center over that distance. granted it won't have to support much more weight than its own, unless the door is hanging from it and flipped up.

didn't even think about that until you said that 5' sections wouldn't have a divider to attach to. sectional doors wouldn't be that hard to fasten tho. make them have an overlap with rope seal and a latch on the top and at the overlap.

should be able to find a span chart/load capacity for various size pieces of steel.

[chromo]

I'll put more thought into the sectional doors.

I did think about the long span trying to sag. I have not decided for certain yet but I am thinking thin guy wires connected to the top rail running up and back at an angle. Either anchor the guy wires into the wall studs of the building or run angle iron a few feet above the ovens back wall. Not holding much weight really just preventing sags so it should not take much.