My wife's cousin would like me to turn a nice Urn for her dad's remains. He passed away a little over a year ago and they haven't found "just the right thing" for him. She saw some of the pics of my recent stuff and decided a turned Urn from within the family was the right way to go.
So now I need design ideas. Are there classic forms or shapes for Urns? Are there certain requirements for how the top would fit?
I will have either really have to practice hollow turning - which I haven't done yet, or make it like a lidded box type vessel.
Finally, what might be a good wood and finish for this? What about volume size?
Sorry if these sound like silly questions. I just want this to come out right for them.
>The size as given to me by the local funeral home is a minimum of 210 cubic inches. AS A box this would be about 9 by 7 by 4 inches. I did turn one and it worked out quite well, it sold as a consignment at the same funeral home. I am thinking about doing another one but haven't gotten to it yet. I would be very interested in the design options. Good LUck.
Consider that this vessel must be sealed (can't gave the grand-kids playing in the ashes), so whatever you do will have to have that requirement incorporated.
Historically, funerary urns were modeled on the Greek Amphora. I'd venture to say that we've gotten past the Ersatz-Classical mode, and any vessel that will provide enough volumn will do.
I'd thus suggest that you do a bit of research into the man's home, if possible, to get a sense of his own design choices. Then try to make something that will evoke a rememberance his preferences for shape and color. Perhaps he had a favorite wood or color that you can pick up on.
Consider doing several vessels and giving the family a choice. That way they won't feel obligated to use a particular piece after you "put all that time into it" only to look elsewhere after a short period of time.
You'll know you hit the mark if "couz" responds with "Dad would have liked that one."
>It seems that this question comes up at least once a year. I would be good if the particulars were listed in an article and filed under "Other Articles" for quick access.
I have turned a couple urns, one for human remains for a fellow woodworker's father. The other was for a friend's family pet. I used a design specified by the family with a little bit of a modification on my part to make it workable. The formula I used for volume was 4/3(pi)(r)cubed, which is the volume of a sphere. If you go to my personal site, you can see the process for turning it. It was a large piece, and was quite a bit of work, but I really enjoyed the challenge. Below is a picture of the finished piece.
This urn is made of walnut, and is approximately 14" high by 11" in diameter. It is finished with Watco clear Danish oil and hand waxed with Butcher's Wax.
I hope this helps you out, and if you have more questions, I will be glad to try and help you out with them.
>Man this is all GREAT information. I appreciate it so much.
Regarding sealing the lid. Does this mean that after my cousin puts the ashes in, that I would permanently affix the lid with glue? Or were you thinking that it would have to be threaded?
I'll contact a local crematory for some advise as well and post their recommendations.
I did remember seeing this image before. If my eyes are seeing right, it appears the "lid" is several inches tall and fits to the base near the thin part of the neck.
Did you permanently affix the lid as Mark suggested?
Regarding looking at how he lived... His widow has since moved and pretty much transformed things, so I can't really do that. But I will say that this man, Perry, was a life-long example of being content - and happy - with little in the way of material posession. They lived almost 30 years in a small trailer - 8x20. Beyond that, I will keep talking to the cousin until the form really "hits" me.
I have done a couple of urns. One for my Father-In-Law and the other for my Dad. They were completely different in shape and wood. The thing that was the same was the way I felt as I was making them. For me it was a moving experience. There was a good deal of time spent sanding and gluing and such where my mind drifted to the purpose of the object. It gave me a chance to think about my Father-In-Law, what his life had meant to me, my wife and the people who he touched. That was a very strange experience to go though while doing the woodturning activity that I enjoy so much. With my Dad's urn that feeling was even greater. My Dad's health was failing as I was making the urn. He selected the wood and he was consulted on the design (he selected lacewood, but didn't have much to say on the design).
As for size. I was constrained by the space provided by the niche where the urn resides. I also checked several internet sites to get an idea as to the volume needed.
I wanted a stable base and I wanted the container to withstand many years of hot, cold, wet and dry cycles. Because of this I finished the inside and out with epoxy.
This was my first effort for my Dad's urn. It is about 11" tall and nearly 9" across.
I liked the shape of this one but I wasn't thrilled with some of the glue lines so I made a second one that included 1/8" pieces of a darker wood in many of the glue joints. The result was much better to my eye. The opening of the second one was smaller and flared out a little. I didn't make a top for it at first. Eventually we decided that a golf ball from the country club he belonged to made the perfect stopper.
There aren't many rules to follow. It would be nice to make the urn big enough to hold the ashes. A secure base so it doesn't fall over would be nice. Know that the ashes are HEAVY in weight so a little structural integrity is good. Other than that the design should come from within. If you don't know what shape you want to make then spend some time thinking about it and looking at things he might have liked. Things he saw everyday. Shapes that were a part of his life and perhaps brought him joy.
Take a look at Bill Grumbine's solution on his web site. He left the "neck/top" sealed and hollowed through the bottom which then had a panel glued in to seal the vessel. Smart way to do things rather than trying to hollow a large deep jar through a long/small neck. Also affords uninterrupted grain rather than trying to match grain and figure line with a parted-off neck piece.
Try contacting Brad Stave for structural info. He turns the urns for Forest Lawn Mortuary in Los Angeles (one of the largest here). At last count I believe he has completed 100+ for them. He is the president of the Antelope Valley Woodturners Association (http://www.avwa.org) and his email is on the site. I do know that he uses brass inserts for threading the lids and coats the inside with resin to repel seapage I am sure he could give you all of the info you need on specs.
I will e-mail him tomorrow and start some discussions. I read through Bill Grumbine's steps for the urn he made. Doing the glued base is an interesting option too. But starting with a 79 lb blank is not for the faint of heart (or those of us with smaller lathes).
I'm also considering doing this as a segmented piece in order to get the volumetric capacity without having to turn off all that weight.
She has given me all the time I need to get it done so I'm going to take my time with the research.
