Popular Post pkinneb Posted March 17, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 17, 2021 As many of you know my father passed away a week ago Monday and as we work through the process one of the things that came up was the need for an URN for his ashes. The family decided to go with a wooden box type urn. As the funeral home showed us what was available they either looked really cheap or the prices climbed to the $1K range. Knowing my father (who was quite cheap LOL) I offered to make the the box and thought I would take you all along for the ride. First up was the design we wanted something clean and fairly simple yet nice. I decided to go with what I had in the shop so originally was thinking a walnut box with a birdseye maple lid but after refining the design switched to curly maple, more on that later. First up was to pull some some stock After finding the wood I wanted to use I did some resawing. I will do a four side match on the box and also prepped the wood for the veneer After resting for a few days I brought the shop made veneer down to about 1/16" using a sled at the drum sander Next up I laid out the lid design. I decided it was time to put to use the Scott Grove veneer classes I have been taking. After getting the design laid out I decided the curly maple would look better then the birdseye. My feeling was the curly would look like rays behind the cross or at least that's what I hoped. So I set out cutting, planing and fitting each piece Next up I prepped the bottom for glue up. Two layers of resawn walnut and an 1/8" MDF filler After prep they went into the vacuum bag For those interested I use a qualityvak.com system Next up I came up with the cross size Then set about creating a fence syetem that wouldn't allow me to mess this up LOL Fine tuned with hand tools I glued the long piece in first then rinse and repeat for the cross piece After a little clean up with a hand plane it was ready for finish Next up I need to make the box sides. 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mick S Posted March 17, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 17, 2021 Very, very nice, Paul! Love the sunburst behind the cross. Making Alison's urn was a very cathartic experience for me. I know I've never made anything that was more appreciated. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted March 17, 2021 Report Share Posted March 17, 2021 Excellent choice to go with the curly maple. I know this a tough project for you, but I'm sure your father would have appreciated it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted March 17, 2021 Report Share Posted March 17, 2021 Sorry for your loss Paul, that piece is awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted March 17, 2021 Report Share Posted March 17, 2021 Great choice of wood Paul and excellent craftsmanship as usual, the rays behind the cross are a beautiful touch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 17, 2021 Report Share Posted March 17, 2021 Sorry for the loss of your dad Paul. I think that it is a gift that given the chance as a woodworker, a project like this can create some healing in the process. I think the maple was a great choice with the ray's behind the cross. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronn W Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Wonderful choice of the curly maple. NIcely done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Absolutely beautiful Paul. Wonderful choice of wood. So sorry for your loss. What are the dimensions of the urn? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 3 hours ago, Mick S said: Very, very nice, Paul! Love the sunburst behind the cross. Making Alison's urn was a very cathartic experience for me. I know I've never made anything that was more appreciated. I know the feeling Mick, Linda's casket was a traumatic experience. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Beautiful young'un. I know as Mick does, that this is important and cathartic. Keep up the love. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradpotts Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Sorry to hear about your loss. The top looks beautiful! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Beautiful work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post pkinneb Posted March 18, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 4 hours ago, Mick S said: Making Alison's urn was a very cathartic experience for me. I know I've never made anything that was more appreciated. I agree totally! I told my wife I need to do something constructive or I'm going to loose it. The level of family bat sh$% crazy is off the charts right now. I have 6 siblings all 50 and older but you would think half of them were still in preschool based on how they are acting It's unbelievable, unfortunately I know its not uncommon even in smaller families. Anyway this is definitely an outlet as you and @RichardA have advised. 1 hour ago, Coop said: Absolutely beautiful Paul. Wonderful choice of wood. So sorry for your loss. What are the dimensions of the urn? Coop the outside demission is 8"x10" still pondering the height but it will be somewhere between 4 & 5" to exceed the required 200ish cu in needed for the remains. The dry run below was 5" but I think shorter would look better and still exceed the requirements so the redu will be a little shorter As for an update I messed up the four sided grain match tonight so I will be getting a chance to redu that tomorrow 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Paul, the grain mismatch is understandable, given the pressure you are under. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodenskye Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 Paul, very sorry for your loss. Really great job on the top and I’m sure you will get the sides the way you want. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted March 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 14 hours ago, Coop said: Paul, the grain mismatch is understandable, given the pressure you are under. Coop we'll go with that but ultimately it was a really dumb mistake, luckily one that is easily fixed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted March 18, 2021 Report Share Posted March 18, 2021 20 hours ago, pkinneb said: As for an update I messed up the four sided grain match tonight so I will be getting a chance to redu that tomorrow We've all been there. I recently reversed the plywood show edges on a part of a shop cab carcass. Really aggravating. I had marked them all for orientation and then just flat-lined during glue up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Mick S Posted March 19, 2021 Popular Post Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 22 hours ago, pkinneb said: I agree totally! I told my wife I need to do something constructive or I'm going to loose it. The level of family bat sh$% crazy is off the charts right now. I have 6 siblings all 50 and older but you would think half of them were still in preschool based on how they are acting It's unbelievable, unfortunately I know its not uncommon even in smaller families. Anyway this is definitely an outlet as you and @RichardA have advised. Coop the outside demission is 8"x10" still pondering the height but it will be somewhere between 4 & 5" to exceed the required 200ish cu in needed for the remains. The dry run below was 5" but I think shorter would look better and still exceed the requirements so the redu will be a little shorter As for an update I messed up the four sided grain match tonight so I will be getting a chance to redu that tomorrow Unless you point it out, not one person outside of this forum will ever know. Zero. But I understand. It's your dad. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 I love the idea of something simple and effective. It looks like your headed that direction and it looks great. The cross on the lid looks great and the starburst pattern adds a nice touch. Keep up the good work, I'm sure you dad would be proud. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted March 19, 2021 Report Share Posted March 19, 2021 Paul, my heartfelt condolences and prayers to you and your family. Beautiful use of woods and hopefully a healing productive project that can help you through this time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post pkinneb Posted March 20, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 Today I remade the box while still not perfect I can at least live with this one. 1 2 3 4 - you can see this one is still off, I should have changed my bandsaw blade to a new one but it will work. Next up I cut a dado for the inset top panel and hand fit it using a shooting board and #5 plane With that done I moved on to a bevel detail on the top and the bottom of each side. I clamped a quick zero clearance piece down to the router table to insure a smooth cut. The panels are square with about an 1/8" 45 bevel top and bottom. The pick makes it look a bit off but that's just my poor photography skills not the panel. Then I did a dry fit prior to glue up Just need to wait a couple hours for the top to dry, after taping it off and spraying it with a couple coats of lacquer, then I will glue it up. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chet Posted March 20, 2021 Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 Paul do you like that style of clamps compared to the band clamps for gluing up items with mitered corners? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeslayer Posted March 20, 2021 Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 beautiful work Paul that will really pop with some finish on it, and i'll chime in on that style of clamps @Chet, i had some custom made many years ago by a friend and i much prefer them to the band clamps, i think they are easier to put on and can be set before the glue up among other reasons, mine are made of aluminum and use 1/4" threaded rod 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post pkinneb Posted March 20, 2021 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted March 20, 2021 9 minutes ago, Chet said: Paul do you like that style of clamps compared to the band clamps for gluing up items with mitered corners? Chet I definitely do for boxes and picture frames way less messing around, you can actually use one on the bottom and nothing moves while you get things situated and clamp the top. My problem with the band clamps is they can be a bit unruly especially for smaller things. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted March 21, 2021 Report Share Posted March 21, 2021 You aced the grain match! The edge bevels add a neat touch! Looking forward to see the finish on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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