# Human Urn



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

The father of a member on another forum I am part of passed away unexpectedly in December and I decided I should make and donate to him a nice urn. I found out that the fathers ashes are currently in a bag in a cardboard box and didn't feel that was a fitting place. The "customer" chose mahogany for the sides and bottom and wormy maple for the top. 

here is the inspiration for the build


Biggest challenge for me in this build was the sides. they are 6" tall and I wanted a full profile curve on them. My idea was to build a jig for my handheld router to glide over and create the curve. Wasnt the best design, but it worked out OK.





Here is the mahogany part way through using the jig. 


Sides cut to length and taped for mockup. 


This is a picture of the test piece I routed for the top that the customer chose. 


Currently the wormy maple top is routed and clamped for gluing. I will update with more pictures later.


----------



## BrianS (Nov 7, 2004)

Looks good Bob. We should all have something that nice for our final journey.


----------



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

The family should be thrilled when they get it.


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

Thanks for the kind words. Still a long ways to go on this project, but its nice (for me at least) to see some progress on it. The router jig had slowed me down quite a bit.


----------



## thedavel (Oct 3, 2014)

Looking great! I like the work on your jig!


----------



## TwoSkies57 (Feb 23, 2009)

A tip of the hat to ya Bob, A gentlemanly gesture indeed!


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

here is the top glued on.


the wormy maple was super easy to route. Took off a 1/16" at a time at 10k rpm. No burning.


----------



## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Brilliant.


----------



## olliecooper (Jul 18, 2013)

Beautiful piece of work!


----------



## DonkeyHody (Jan 22, 2015)

Now this is what I come here for . . . A guy with a big heart takes the time to do something really nice for somebody. Spends a lot of time figuring out how to make something special; and then shares with us how to do it. Good on ya Bob! 
Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Keith Hodges (Apr 30, 2013)

Hi Bob. Got a question for you. Been considering doing this myself. Is their any legal concerns regarding building an urn? Any build requirements? Just curious considering how rules and regulations always creep into our lives when we want to do things for others. Also, you have the top glued on, so I'm guessing the remains are placed through the bottom, then sealed? Very nice project. Keith


----------



## Nicknurse (Feb 22, 2015)

Bob, Your work is beautiful but more important is your kindness and compassion of someone else we should all work attempt to provide.
God Bless you!


----------



## GregLittleWoodworks (Dec 9, 2014)

That is really nice Bob and it is something that will have a lot of meaning for his family and for you as well.
Have you considered using your table saw with a bevel cut to make the curved sides?


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

Keith Hodges said:


> Hi Bob. Got a question for you. Been considering doing this myself. Is their any legal concerns regarding building an urn? Any build requirements? Just curious considering how rules and regulations always creep into our lives when we want to do things for others. Also, you have the top glued on, so I'm guessing the remains are placed through the bottom, then sealed? Very nice project. Keith


no legal issues that I am aware of. I would imagine that if the urn was to be placed at a cemetery mausoleum that they might have some rules as to what kind of urn. This urn will be kept at the owners home.

the bottom will have threaded inserts and a removable bottom. If I plan it right, the satin nickel feet that will be used will hide the screws and look solid.


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

@bobditts...

have you considered using log siding as a starting point???

Meadow Valley Log Homes Log Siding


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

GregLittleWoodworks said:


> Have you considered using your table saw with a bevel cut to make the curved sides?


If I have to do the curved profile again, this is probably the route I will take. Shoulda Coulda Woulda haha.


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

Stick486 said:


> @bobditts...
> 
> have you considered using log siding as a starting point???
> 
> Meadow Valley Log Homes Log Siding


that is awesome! I did not think of that nor know about it. If I could find it in mahogany it would be perfect. Thanks!


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

bobditts said:


> that is awesome! I did not think of that nor know about it. If I could find it in mahogany it would be perfect. Thanks!


where do you live???
how many LF do you need???
what profile and size???
any other species???


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

Stick486 said:


> where do you live???
> how many LF do you need???
> what profile and size???
> any other species???


PMed


----------



## DaninVan (Jan 1, 2012)

'Urn while you learn'


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

GregLittleWoodworks said:


> Have you considered using your table saw with a bevel cut to make the curved sides?


do you have any links or information that might explain this process more in depth?


----------



## 1934fram (Jun 21, 2014)

Hi,
We are two stupid Aussies who have been studying your setup to make the beautiful side curved pieces of this lovely urn, we are unable to fathom out how you used your router to produce these side pieces, using the jigs shown, kindly advise further?. An urn anyone would be proud to own, well done!


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

***EDIT*** just found this link which would have saved me a ton of time and resources.

http://www.woodsmithshop.com/download/502/curved-lid-box.pdf





1934fram said:


> Hi,
> We are two stupid Aussies who have been studying your setup to make the beautiful side curved pieces of this lovely urn, we are unable to fathom out how you used your router to produce these side pieces, using the jigs shown, kindly advise further?. An urn anyone would be proud to own, well done!



Ill do my best to describe the process. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of videos of the the jig in action. 



in the picture above, you can see the bottom half of the jig. The board of mahogany is adhered to the sled (with double sided tape). The right side of the picture you can see the curved MDF that is the profile I needed to replicate. 



this picture shows the top half of the jig to which the router was mounted to. I used a plunge router base so that I could easily adjust the depth of the bit to remove the material in several passes (and I do mean several) since a great deal of material was being removed. The entire top half of the jig rocked back and forth and side to side on top of the curved sides made of MDF on the lower half of the jig. I had to apply car wax to the surfaces a couple times so it would slide easier.

Hopefully this explanation made sense. Let me know if anything needs clarifying. Oh, I should mention that it took me about 4 hours to route the entire 6 foot board. My back was killing me. Wish I had designed something better.


----------



## sawduster1962 (Jan 2, 2015)

The color and grain just jump out at you......amazing work.


----------



## GregLittleWoodworks (Dec 9, 2014)

bobditts said:


> do you have any links or information that might explain this process more in depth?


It is quite easy. Just make the flat surface box and then set your table saw at an angle of around 10 degrees. Angle the four sides on both top and bottom and then fine tune it with a hand plane and some sanding.
I just made two similar boxes in one day.


None are urns but the curving process is the same.
You can also make an urn that seals the ashes in the bottom and also have a compartment in the top for keepsake & memory stuff like photos etc.


----------



## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

GregLittleWoodworks said:


> It is quite easy. Just make the flat surface box and then set your table saw at an angle of around 10 degrees. Angle the four sides on both top and bottom and then fine tune it with a hand plane and some sanding.
> I just made two similar boxes in one day.
> 
> 
> ...


Very impressive work Bob and I like Greg's approach as well. Relative to Greg's suggestion, A.J. Hamler's "Box Builder's Handbook", describes a box build (page 60) which uses the curved side approach as shown in the attached, apology on the bad photography. 

I need to build at least two of these in the near term and Bob's work is definitely an impetus to move forwards.


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

small update for now. Figured out the "engineering" to have the feet hide the screw. More pictures later today.


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

how about a hanger bolt???


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

It is now ready for finish preparations. With the exception of the engraved plate that needs to be inlayed on the bottom, this thing is ready.


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

Stick486 said:


> how about a hanger bolt???


thanks for the suggestion. Ill keep that in mind for future builds. It wouldn't work on this project because the feet I chose aren't threaded. They are designed to be epoxied in place. I chose to use a slightly undersized hole for a press fit.


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Nice...
very nice...


----------



## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Very nice indeed.


----------



## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Great result, Bob.


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

One coat of semi gloss poly (spray can). Really only used it to seal the grain. Need to get a nice jar of glossy poly and use an HVLP gun.


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

ooooh glossy. Still not quite done yet. Going to polish it. Basically the same process as buffing a car.


----------



## bobditts (Jan 5, 2015)

finished product.


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

that came out hyper nice...


----------



## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

Simple, understated elegance. Perfect.


----------



## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

@bobditts...

you still never said if you wanted to pursue siding pieces...


----------

