Does anyone out there have experience building cremation urns? I’ve been asked to build one for a friend and need to find out roughly the size requirements. I plan to make it in the form of a box (rather than turned). Any help would be appreciated.
Edited 12/29/2002 11:22:26 PM ET by WOODADDICT
Replies
Woodaddict,
You might try asking a local burial vault company. I know of one locally (northern colorado) who has done this kind of work in wood/concrete. I don't know his dimensions but someone local where you live might be able to help. I could also ask this friend of mine but it might be a day or two before I could get back to you. It seems to me he was able to buy molds for the spaces where the urns were to go, then built an overall frame that would hold the concrete and molds. I don't know if this makes any sense to you; I've never helped him but I know he has done a few of various sizes for different numbers of people/remains.
jd
Thanks for the input JD,
I think the plan is for a burial, so external dimensions are not that critical.
What I need to know is minimum inside volume.
One recommendation i've seen was 200 cu. in., but it depends on the size of the individual, of course. The remains are pulverized so no bone fragments are identifiable. I made one for my friend's mom that utilized a particularly nicely burled piece of walnut for the top raised panel, which determined the size of the box, approx. 9" x 16" and 4" deep. There was plenty of room left over.
I silicone-sealed all the joints between the ply bottom panel and the sides. Instead of a hinged lid, i made a lift-off one by putting a mitered lip around the inside edge of the lid--essentially forming a rabbet--that fit quite tightlyy inside the body of the box. I siliconed around the top panel before i pressed the mitered pieces in to seal that avenue of escape for the remains.
My father ended up in one of my jewelry boxes, only about 6" x 12" x 3.5", and it was a snug fit for the old man. Oddly enough, it was bought for the occasion at a gallery by my step-mother before i knew she existed. Weird, huh?
I did a walnut-and-maple one for a German Sheperd that was about the size of a 2# coffee can. I had to do the job over when the woman informed me she had wanted one in maple-and-walnut (sides v. panel on top). I could let you have it cheap... ;~)
SPLINTIE wrote: My father ended up in one of my jewelry boxes, only about 6" x 12" x 3.5", and it was a snug fit for the old man. Oddly enough, it was bought for the occasion at a gallery by my step-mother before i knew she existed. Weird, huh?
That's more than weird, Colleen. It's downright spooky. Did she know it was yours at the time she bought it?
--
Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
<warning, hijack in progress>
As far as i know, she'd never seen my work; unknown to me, we had this mutual acquaintance who had started carrying some of my work in a gallery local to her. I'd been estranged from my father for about 8 years, so i never knew that he'd remarried until i was invited to the memorial service after she tracked me down through a brother i know peripherally. I don't know what's customary, but it was an "open casket" service, with the box lid up. (I heard later she fed him to the dahlias at her house.) Speaking of spooky, i had what i can only describe as visitations from him for a couple nites after i got home.
SPLINTIE: <warning, hijack in progress>
You don't need the handcuffs. I'll go quietly.
SPLINTIE: As far as i know, she'd never seen my work ...
Curiouser and curiouser! Have you contacted Ripley's?
SPLINTIE: I'd been estranged from my father for about 8 years ...
I'm truly sorry to hear that, Colleen. I have a 33 year old daughter who has estranged herself from me for some perceived fault of mine and I know well the pain of not being a part of her life. I wasn't invited to her wedding 2 years ago and she recently had her first daughter without sending me any birth announcements. I stay up on her life only through her older sister and younger brother.
SPLINTIE: I don't know what's customary, but it was an "open casket" service, with the box lid up. ...
I don't think that's quite normal after a cremation. It's hardly how you want to remember your father.
SPLINTIE: I heard later she fed him to the dahlias at her house ...
Probably a better fate than staying in a too small box for eternity.
SPLINTIE: Speaking of spooky, i had what i can only describe as visitations from him for a couple nites after i got home.
You won't find me doubting you on such happenings. I hope they were a healing event for you, and not a scary one.
I, actually we, my mother and I, had an "event," a tremendously healing one, just hours before she passed away, while she lay, apparently unaware and uncommunicative, in a hospital bed. It resolved many "differences" we had had throughout the years. I thank God for that blessing.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year celebration. The best to you and yours through the coming year and always.
--
Lee in Cave Junction, Oregon
On the Redwood Highway
Too bad about your daughter. It's always easier to leave than be left, i know. In my case, i decided i had enough of my own baggage that i wouldn't make any forward progress if saddled with the family investment in the 9-pc. Samsonite set. I'm not big on forgiveness, but i know some folks swear by it.
The holidays were calm, calm, calm, after the hubbub of sales. A half-pound of chocolate bit the dust on Dec. 25, a new personal best!
Your best source of information is your local funeral director; just give him a call.
Jeff
I thought I was going to be making one about a year ago, got out of that job! But, I was searching on the web and 6x6x6 seems to be the norm or the sum of the 6" cube. Do a search........Dale
Edited 12/31/2002 1:00:36 PM ET by Dale
If you haven't already found an answer to your question, call a crematorium. I used to do work for a company that made the cremation equipment (the ovens and the machines that homogenize the remains into "cremains") and it's amazing how many regulations, specifications and practices there are in that industry. If the survivers don't tell the crematorium -- or funeral home -- what kind of container they want, the remains will usually be placed in a plastic bag which is then put into a cardboard box of appropriate size -- not too big and not too small. So that's probably the dimension set you need to ask about. When my brother died, my son made an urn for the ashes by turning it out of spalted pecan wood; it couldn't have a hard finish on it because one of the rules of the church where it was to be interred was for a biodegradable material. (I think it was waxed only.) There really shouldn't be a big mystery about this if you just ask someone in the funeral business. If you can't find out, I'll call around for you. Good luck. Jim
cardboard box of appropriate size -- not too big and not too small.
So you don't believe me, eh? <G>
1. recommended that the urn or container be a minimum size of 200 cubic inches
2. SPECIFICATIONS: Capacity........210 cu.in.Size...............4 ¼" x 6" x 8 ¼"Packaged...........24 to a case(12" x 16" 3mil bag with 6" tie included)
Splintie and Dale- thanks for answering my question. That's exactly what I wanted to know. You've been a big help.
Paul.
OK, but I think my mom's was smaller, i.e., "not too big".
I think Taunton did a book on that...the "Not So Big House".
Speaking of which...i ordered the sequel, afraid it would be a rehash of the same--well, the text mostly is--but got a bunch more good ideas from it for "small-scale grandeur". (Hey, that's not a bad title, either!)
Hey -- I thought we were talking about burial urns ... which reminds me of that woodworking classic, "This Old Hearse".
Was that the one hosted by Bob Villa?
Yup, but he quit when they were going to send him to a project in Montana.
Montana, where the villas are cold and the hearts are warm...time to go cremate some lodgepole pine.
Ha ha -- I guess I urned that!
That's it. You've used up your pun allowance for January.
Hey -- no need to "punish" me . . .
This reminds me of the Punic wars...I was a small girl in Carthage at the time...
Cryptic puns on such a grave subject are beginning to pall---bearers of relevant information should share it, not scoff. In the end, you should all show some esprit de corpse.IanDG
Edited 1/8/2003 5:57:53 PM ET by IanDG
Egad! Methinks a final word hath been spake; forsooth another mot to squeeze the mortal self yet waits the muse upon the shelf, and this poor one no resource left yields empty up to one whose native prose doth capture up and honor pun, if not in strife -- at least in fun.
James (a psuedonym, no doubt)
Edited 1/8/2003 7:30:29 PM ET by JIMMACMAHON
Help! Help!It's going from bard to verse!IanDG
Bravo! That's the best one yet. You win, Ian!
I spent today cutting and ripping ipe with my son and I've never seen sawdust so fine or sticky. Have you ever used ipe for floors? It's becoming more common here (in Florida) for exterior applications because it's disease and rot free. Mainly being used for window and door trim and, on occasion, for decking. A bit expensive at around $4/bd. ft., but initial cost is easily overlooked when one considers the long term benefits. As you probably know, it can't be nailed; must be piloted and screwed, which drives up installation costs. Many local carpenters won't work with it.
Your website is superb. I've yet to see all of it.
Jim
My only experience of Ipe was turning it to a cylinder and making a triple twist candlestick. I found it very hard but surprisingly easy to work -- I agree about the dust -- much like Padauk or Jarrah. (the candlestick snapped in half as I was cutting the last part of the last twist!) It reminds me of a timber called Ironbark which I used for a sprung games floor in Oz -- magnificent when it's given an oiled finish but, like Ipe, it has to be pre-drilled even for blind-nailing.I cut the piece I used from a post, about 4" square and I noticed a mass of fine checks on the surface -- I don't know how it was seasoned/stored before I got it -- is this checking normal?IanDG
No. I don't believe checking is normal. At least, I haven't seen it. I also tried turning some, but couldn't keep it from splintering. Maybe I had a bad piece, although the grain seemed quite straight and perfect for a spindle. My son, Scott, has become someone in demand in this area since he's willing to work with it whereas others are not. I can imagine your disappointent at having a failure at the last step. I've had similar occasions when my vocabulary was well seasoned by the experience. Tell me, what is a sprung games floor?
It's a type of floor used for squash courts, etc, where it's important that the whole area gives a consistent 'bounce' to the ball.The floor, underlay and bearers are one unit, separated from the joists by hard rubber pads. IanDG
It would depend on the volume of ashes. For me, they can have it in a cremation urn box. Some of the urns can place in a piece of cremation jewelry. They bring the cremation jewelry anywhere they go. checking at this link. https://minimemorials.com/collections/cremation-urns
This is a zombie post, but if anyone is still looking at it, the normal ration is 1 cubic inch for every pound of pre cremation weight. Same for dogs, cats, horses, people, etc.
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