Does any one here make final resting boxes?

Mark DeCou has posted one of his caskets here. As usual Mark does a pretty good job of providing background on the build.

-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine

Eastern Red Cedar is the wood of choice around this part of Kentucky for burial boxes – human and animal.
My beloved Beagles go down in cedar when their time comes, as will I.

We have some fine Amish artisans in our area that make great boxes of all kinds.

“The box in question was, as I say, oblong. It was about six feet in length by two and a half in breadth; I observed it attentively, and like to be precise. Now this shape was PECULIAR; and no sooner had I seen it, than I took credit to myself for the accuracy of my guessing. “

Edgar Allen Poe, The Oblong Box

-- 温故知新

I remember when I buried my dad I found out that there was an option for a coffin made from MDF! My neighbor said if we put him in one of those he would have turned in it! It may break your heart to put all that work in the ground, but we should all go out in style, right? Maybe you need the right mindset to build them, I remember a spanish friend who built them, a devout catholic and more than a little superstitious, in the end he quit because he couldn,t handle making the ones for children. I think it,s a subject to be explored not avoided but will be interested in others opinions on this subject. Do you approach it as just a box for a purpose? or is there an emotion behind each build that you as the builder need to deal with on each project.

-- if the hand is not working it is not a pure hand

I used to make hundreds of them. Not the fancy kind but good old “cheap as they come”. Particle board knock down models (KD) kinda like Ikea style. The would show the body in a fancy one then transfer the body to the KD for cremation.

The only guy I know who made his own climbed into it to test the “fit” and promptly died…........been nervous about making my own since!!!

-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso

This was just on the news here about a guy who is making more affordable caskets than the ordinary ones. http://www.wday.com/tv/?page=video&vid=29_simplepinebox

-- Clay

I like the idea of building a KD for myself. But with my shop where will I store it. I suppose I could hang it from the ceiling. My son has promised to leave a little bit of my ashes in all the places I said I wanted to go to but never made it; so I guess I won’t need a fancy crematory box.

-- gjd Southcentral Wisconsin

Rockler offers plans and hardware for building caskets.

-- http://www.peteroxley.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --

Personally, I’d rather be buried at sea….no box needed, doesn’t cost much, your recycled quick.
But I did see an interesting show on how they make oblong boxes in Europe out of Almond hulls and resin.
injection molded, cheap….painted…biodegradable…...interesting idea…....yoda.

When my Dad, who was a woodworker, passed and they showed us the caskets to pick from I knew that I couldn’t bury him in something not fitting to how he lived. We had a small inheritance and decided to put part of it towards a beautiful cherry box, even though it was the most expensive it was also the most fitting.

Who says that you can’t take it with you ?

-- -JimmyC...Clayton,NC- "Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave"

For DaveR
As a small animal veterinarian I have had some hunters use this company for their hunting dogs:
http://www.thedepartingshot.com/products/index.aspx
Not sure if they apply it to humans lol.

-- Doc Hanson - www.ripnchisel.com

I had been considering making boxes for over 5 years. I had started to gather materials and air dry some lumber when my grandmother died. My mom asked me to build the box. After I had done most of the rough box work I got really stressed out. That is when I realized that it wasn’t my project to finish. In the end most of her 6 children, 70 grandchildren and many great grandchildren had a hand in finishing the box. The entire process is in my grandmothers blog with some pictures if anyone is interested. Fron this point forward I knew that people deserved a choice which is why I started my part time business. My full time job is a hospital social worker so I am very familiar with the concept of death.

http://grandmathiessenmemory.blogspot.com/

I enjoyed reading your responses. Thanks for the input. It saved me hours from searching through the archives.

Last year I made a urn (box) for my father-in-laws ashes.
It was the least I could do for a god man and great father.

-- Russ - Bloomingdale, IL

I’m gonna make my own ash can. Wait till they open the lid to put me in it, hehehehehe.

-- Dan, Sterling Alaska, Before you criticise some one, walk a mile in their shoes...then you will be a mile away and you have their shoes!

Just make sure the ash hole is big enough. (I think I can say that as long as it is in context) Most people make their people boxes too big and their creamation containers too small (I think due to the thickness of the wood)