Cremation Urns

[Ben Abate]

Hi all,

I have a question, has anyone ever made a cremation urn? I had a very dear friend die this week. We had been friends for 35 yrs. or so. She and her husband and I have been very close for all these years and today he called and asked if I would be comfortable in doing this. I felt honored to be asked, but is there more to it than what we see on the outside? I'm sure if there is a type of liner of sort that I can find a compatible solution. I've never examined an urn so I don't know, are there seals, locks and so on..?

Any input would be appreciated.
Ben

[James Evans]

Ben, they do not have to be fancy, but they can be. most are a rectangular box with a base that is alittle larger. The base is screwed onto the sides. The key is to make it big enough so all the cremated remains fit. We alway ask families when they bring in their own urns, if the cremated remails do not all fit, what do we do. so that is the key. I can get you demensions that have worked well.

Jamie

[Dan Hintz]

Figure on 1 cubic inch per pound of uncremated remains... if the gentleman was 200 pounds, figure on a box roughly 6x6x6.

[Joe Leigh]

Hi all,

I have a question, has anyone ever made a cremation urn? I had a very dear friend die this week. We had been friends for 35 yrs. or so. She and her husband and I have been very close for all these years and today he called and asked if I would be comfortable in doing this. I felt honored to be asked, but is there more to it than what we see on the outside? I'm sure if there is a type of liner of sort that I can find a compatible solution. I've never examined an urn so I don't know, are there seals, locks and so on..?

Any input would be appreciated.
Ben

An excellent question and one I'm sure many here have been reluctant to ask. Thanks.

[James Evans]

i would consider that too small for the average. Plastice temporary containers that alot of crematorys use are rectangular 5x6x7.5. Alot of times that is pushing it. make the inside 6x7x8 you should be good.

[Brian Kent]

The bottom needs to be removable (with screws, usually) but the ashes will come from the crematorium in a thick plastic bag that will be the liner.

[Dick Brown]

Hi,
Have just built one for a low income family from our church. The 1" per lb. seems to be the norm. Here is a link that should give you a lot of ideas.
http://www.memorials.com/wood-urns.php
Dick

[Ben Abate]

Ben, they do not have to be fancy, but they can be. most are a rectangular box with a base that is alittle larger. The base is screwed onto the sides. The key is to make it big enough so all the cremated remains fit. We alway ask families when they bring in their own urns, if the cremated remails do not all fit, what do we do. so that is the key. I can get you demensions that have worked well.

Jamie


James,

Thank you for the offer, yes if that is possible I'll take you up on that. To address a few of the other fellows that have chimed in here I guess I never thought of it but you guys say pounds......I guess I've been a bit naive. Seen too much TV and it seems like they only have a small amount when they spread them.

A few comments that were made leads me to believe that some of you do have more than occassionally been in this situation. I'm all ears, what ever experiences you have please share with me. I'd like to do the best job possible.

Brian,
You mention that the bottom should be removable, I never thought of that. I thought you would have a lid that opens but your explaination makes more sense. I guess it's not something you open regularly.

Thank you very much fellows
I'll take all the info I can get....
Ben

[Jim N Burke]

The one we purchase for my father in law a couple years back just had a couple magnets in the top and box - enough to hold it in place was all. My brother made the one we used for my Dad and it was just a very tight friction fit.
Jim

[Jaze Derr]

Generally, if the cremains will be placed loose in the box (no liner), then the lid needs to be SECURELY fastened. Don't want the cat knocking it off the mantel and having ashes go flying. This is not recommended.

The cremains will arrive in a thick plastic bag, usually clear, that is inside a plastic box. You can either size the urn around the plastic box, or just place the bag (again, SECURELY fastened closed) in the urn. Then the lid doesn't need to be quite so bump-proof.

Trying to pick your grandmother's remains out of the carpet is NOT a fun experience.

[Ted Calver]

Ben,
If you use the search function here (try both the google and the forum search) and look for cremation urns there are many posts with some great pictures and sources for plans ....along with discussions of construction techniques. There have been some beauties posted.

[Jay Rasmussen]

Sorry to hear of your loss Ben, I agree, it is an honor.

[Ben Abate]

Jay,

Thank you,

and everyone else for helping me out here. this is a good group of people that gather here.

Ben

[Lee Koepke]

I had a good friend request something further, regarding Urns.

Her father had passed a few years ago, and the family has since spread his ashes ... well, the 4 girls seem to be all wanting to keep the urn, and my friend has asked me to make something out of the wood for each of them, so they can ALL have the memory.

I still consider myself a beginning woodworker, but I was touched by her request. Still not 100% sure what I will do for them.

[Ben Abate]

Lee,

You might consider something with engraving on it. There are a lot of fellows here that have the ability to engrave items. I might seek their help at some point depending on my friend and what he might want when I speak to him next week. If their father was in the military you might incorporate that into it somehow. Dates of birth, dates of anniversaries things of that nature.

Hope it helps a bit.

Ben

[Wyatt Holm]

Mike Mahoney makes buriel urns, he has a video that shows you how to do it, or you could buy one. His website is http://www.bowlmakerinc.com

[Lee Koepke]

Lee,

You might consider something with engraving on it. There are a lot of fellows here that have the ability to engrave items. I might seek their help at some point depending on my friend and what he might want when I speak to him next week. If their father was in the military you might incorporate that into it somehow. Dates of birth, dates of anniversaries things of that nature.

Hope it helps a bit.

Ben
Thanks .... I may try to do that. Jerry Hewitt lives near me and has been lasering some stuff on some of my cutting boards. I may see if I can do a brass plate, since that would be a bit smaller and more legible than direct engraving in wood.

My friend really likes the little desk clocks that I have done, so I probably will do some variation of that for them. I got to get four of whatever out of a 6x9 x 6" tall box. I think the box was maple, so I may mix some of the really nice air dried walnut I have for an accent.

I am looking forward to it ... I would say, nothing I 'create' will top the meaning for me ...

[Andrew Ingals]

I actually have made a few cremation urns. Never for a person but I have made numerous pet urns. I think in most situations there really isn't a set guideline that you need to follow and much of it is personal preference. I have had my wife line all the pet urns in a soft satin as the thought of the ashes not on something soft bothered me. I also have been investigating working with a mixture of different woods after coming across and replicating a wood urn made out of purpleheart and maple. http://www.evrmemories.com/purpleheart-louisiana-memorial-wood-urn-p/evr5171.htm The end result was not exact but was all in all a beautiful urn. You can do a lot with adding in dentil pieces and really mixing it up. Think outside the box per se would be my best advice and really try to incorporate what appeals to the family.

[David Hostetler]

I can not say about an urn for cremated human remains, but I am building an urn to replace the pine piece of junk I got back from the vet when our beloved Deacon passed on last year. An urn is really just a basic box, with an oversized base like was said above, The heavy plastic bag from the crematorium will act as the liner, however in mine, I will use spray flocking as well for additional attention to detail.

The urn I got from the vet is 9" long, x 6" wide by 5" deep. Deacon was 110lbs at the time of his passing...

The biggest issue I think is that you will want the box to be as air tight as possible, just in case the plastic bag deteriorates, you do not want ash / remains leaking out of your urn, ever. So make sure your joinery is good and tight, and seal each and every joint. Even going so far as to epoxy coat the inside of the urn would be a good way to avoid possible leakages.

[Dan Hintz]

The biggest issue I think is that you will want the box to be as air tight as possible, just in case the plastic bag deteriorates, you do not want ash / remains leaking out of your urn, ever.
Unless you get chemicals in there, that bag will outlast your lifetime...

[Dave Anthony]

Hi Ben,

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. I've made several of these, and have always buried them with the ashes. One is pictured here: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?125080-A-sad-project&highlight= I've found it somewhat therapuetic - I think about the person and do the best job I can as a means of showing respect. The pain doesn't go away, but does becomes less sharp over time.