Hey everyone!

Bruce Page

Member
Messages
1,099
Location
Albuquerque, New Mexico
We just got home from Oklahoma City. It has been a trying week with LOML’s mother passing last Wednesday, lots of tears and a lot of things that needed to be taken care of.
LOML is doing pretty good, we are both looking forward to a good night’s sleep in our own bed.

Now for a woodworking question…
I have been tasked to make two urn boxes for MIL and FIL (FIL is 90 and in failing health). They will both be buried at the Santa Fe, NM, National Cemetery.
I have some nice QSWO or some cherry to use but don’t have a clue what size to make the boxes. I was thinking somewhere around 6”X6”X4” high. What do you think?
 
Sorry to see the news, Bruce, but glad to see you made it back home.

On the urn size question, the rule of thumb I've seen repeated is one cubic inch of volume per pound of the deceased. 200 cubic inches should fit the remains of a 200 pound person. Should work for all mammals.

I've also been given the task of making an urn sometime in the future, so I'll be interested in seeing what you end up making.
 
Thanks Vaughn.
So if I made them 6x8x4 high that would be 192 ci which would be plenty big, but the boxes themselves seem small. Maybe I should make just one box with two compartments/lids.
I'll have to think on that.
 
Hey Bruce, sorry to hear about the reason for the trip, thats always a hard one.

As far as I recollect, the boxes for my grandparents were roughly 8x12x2 - that comes out to the same ballpark you've already got. You could try calling a mortuary for measurements, as they seem to use standard boxes.
 
Thanks Vaughn.
So if I made them 6x8x4 high that would be 192 ci which would be plenty big, but the boxes themselves seem small. Maybe I should make just one box with two compartments/lids.
I'll have to think on that.
No rules about making the boxes bigger than necessary. ;) However, the one box/two compartment idea is pretty neat in its symbolism, too.
 
Bruce

So sorry, give your wife a hug for us. I know how much she appreciates your support, LOML was my rock earlier this year when my Mom passed.

Are they going to be buried in the ground, or will their ashes be interred in a Columnbarium? If the latter, then you will be faced with some specific size requirements, kind of like a safe deposit box. In my parents situation, the niche was sized to accept the standard box from the crematory.

Jay
 
Don't forget to account for the wood thickness for calculating volume. Most of the time when someone says they have a X by Y by Z size bow, they mean X, Y and Z from outside measurements. The volume is based on interior measurements.

I hope you and your family are doing as well as you can. Don't be shy about asking for labor help if needed - even if it's just for someone to keep you company while you work on this project.
 
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