To everything, urn, urn, urn...

Rennie Heuer

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
11,607
Location
Constantine, MI
WARNING - Some may see this as morbid. Those sensitive to such things should not read beyond this point.

________________________________________

As many of you know my wife is suffering from an incurable cancer. Being the very practical and forward looking pair that we are we recently decided that we should visit the local crematory and make arrangements for the both of us, prepaying for the service so when the time comes our wishes can be put into motion with a single phone call.

While there I was looking at the various wooden urns available for outrageous prices and only mediocre craftsmanship. A dovetailed pine box was $195.:eek: We're talking about a box that is 10" x 8" x 6"! I informed them that we just wanted the plastic bag inside the plastic box (made in China) and that I would be making the urns myself.

Don't get ahead of me.... Of course I asked if they would consider purchasing urns from a local craftsman, and the answer was YES! I described my design to them and they said to bring one by when I had it completed!

I'm thinking of something Greene & Greene, cloud lifts and ebony plugs. The design is still in my head right now, but I hope to have something on paper in a couple of weeks.

Talk about turning a bad situation to the good!:thumb:
 
Rennie

You should have a look at the pictures that Mack Cameron posted. He too makes the odd urn for the local funeral guys.

See this link

I think the laser engraving is a nice touch and potential added value opportunity.

I would love to see if something like Stus carver could do something like that engraving.

I too am practical and wife and i have discussed the same. Its a reality and i would rather negotiate the whole thing while i still can and i am unemotional about it.

Hey if one can provide ones own box what the heck at least its not made in China that would kill me.:D

Best of luck with the venture. By the way i would not get too carried away with design style. Think more of how to improve on what they have without adding to much cost and work. Small steps of improvement will have them at your door forever. Do the design improvement incrementally. Add the option to your site by the way.:thumb:

Best of luck with the urn sales.
 
Congratulations on two fronts!

First - Getting everything ready for when you pass on. My parents did this and were able to make decisions clear headed rather than things are clouded by a VERY emtional time. Barb and I did the same thing about 10 years ago. Our son doesn't even want to contemplate our passing let alone make sound judgments when it happens. He has an envelope to open which has everything in it, including the phone number to call, when needed.

I strongly urge averyone to seriously consider doing this.

Secondly - I, too, have seen the ridiculous prices for urns and am considering making some for local funeral homes. Just need to get big enough pieces of wood. I believe that you will, if interested, find a market that will be hard to keep supplied.

Bruce
 
I think that it more of a serious thought than morbid. We had a local turner in out club than turned his own urn. He was saying 1sq.in. for every 1lb. of weight. I also build caskets for premee babies. When I am building them it is a very sobering time of thought and prayer for the infant and family. I have thought of building my own casket.
 
Most important is you and your wife doing what feels right for you and your family.
I had a rather jaded attitude about formal funerals but when our son died my feelings changed dramatically. I wanted to get the cheapest casket they had. But, my wife and son objected strongly. Of course, I relented and they got a nice one. As the planning and service progressed, I realized, and appreciated, that this was all for the living left behind.
Please keep us informed about all that is happening with you and your wife.
PM sent.
 
Best of luck with the venture. By the way i would not get too carried away with design style. Think more of how to improve on what they have without adding to much cost and work. Small steps of improvement will have them at your door forever. Do the design improvement incrementally. Add the option to your site by the way.:thumb:

Best of luck with the urn sales.
Quality of finish (no blemishes and no 'plastic' look would be an improvement over what they had. They had one Bombay style with a jewelry tray in the top for over $500! and the finish had a sag in it!:eek:

I think that there would be a market for something that was less "Wal-Mart jewelry box shiny plastic looking finish" and more real wood looking. Something that had a texture and feel that did not remind you of Tupperware.:rofl:
 
Quality of finish (no blemishes and no 'plastic' look would be an improvement over what they had. They had one Bombay style with a jewelry tray in the top for over $500! and the finish had a sag in it!:eek:

I think that there would be a market for something that was less "Wal-Mart jewelry box shiny plastic looking finish" and more real wood looking. Something that had a texture and feel that did not remind you of Tupperware.:rofl:

To spend an eternity in "Tupperware".......... ugh, what a thought :(
 
I know that Bill Grumbine has a thing oon his web site about making urns.

When my brother found out I was making boxes to sell he told me he had done a few boxes as urns and he was told that you should make it to hold six lbs of flour.:huh::dunno:

When I did the workshop with Sam Maloof he talked about he and "the boys" building the casket for his first wife Freda. I don't know for sure but I am willing to bet you the boys built his casket. If any one care he and Freda are buried next to the new house on the compound.
 
i have an idea bouncing around rennie, and i'll try to get it into sketchup after i get home tonight. personally, i prefer the carlin method. stuff me full of explosives and a really long fuse. as carlin said, it will solve one problem, while being entertaining at the same time. :rolleyes:
 
Rennie, I'll be interested to see what you come up with. I think it is a good thing. My best to your bride and to you.

My previous offer is still there if it helps.

When I go I want to be shot out of a cannon.
 
i have an idea bouncing around rennie, and i'll try to get it into sketchup after i get home tonight. personally, i prefer the carlin method. stuff me full of explosives and a really long fuse. as carlin said, it will solve one problem, while being entertaining at the same time. :rolleyes:

only yu dan, could come up with something like that... as fer me i dont want anything just a bag of ashes dispersed in my own specail place,, and i fi could handle it i would take a long walk with no one knowinf where i went and let the critters have at me.. no need for any service just some critters free meals.. rennie i hope you can get a lot of business making the urns and i agree not to designer, and offer to make it custom for the departed family.
 
When my grandmother died, her wishes were to have her ashes scattered in the woods at sunset. The funeral home gave me a hard time :mad: about releasing her ashes to me without paying for an elaborate service but I finally got them. (BTW, we now use the other funeral home in town)
We lived way back in the woods at the time, not our present location. One evening, my wife, our young sons and I went a couple hundred feet behind the house and scattered the ashes at the base of a large tree. Not much ceremony.
Some years later I decided to visit the spot and couldn't even find it. My old house and the surrounding properties had been purchased, the beautiful woods completely bulldozed, leveled and subdivided. :(
 
Last edited:
The funeral home gave me a hard time :mad: about releasing her ashes to me without paying for an elaborate service but I finally got them. (BTW, we now use the other funeral home in town)
There is a local crematory here that caters to such requests. No frills, cremated in a fiberboard box (meets state requirements), they hand over the ashes in a plastic container, no service, no graveside ceremony, free obit in the paper only. All for under $1,000. This is what we chose as there will be a memorial service at our church and we don't want any viewings, etc.
 
I told my wife a couple months ago to have me cremated and to do it as cheaply as she can. i told her that it was crazy to give the funeral home all that money when she and the kids could use it a lot more.

When dad died a couple years ago, I was at the funeral home with Mom making the arrangements. Of course you're in a daze and not thinking clearly. I remember looking at the urns and wondering what the numbers underneath meant. It then dawned on me later that it was the prices! It was insane, the cheapest one that had was like 400 bucks and none of them looked very good. The prices ranged from 400 to around 1000.
 
Last edited:
Kudos on your foresight to make all the arrangements ahead of time. LOML and her brother did that for their mom, and it made things much easier when the inevitable rolled around. (It also helped to reduce her assets so she could qualify for MediCal benefits.)

When LOML and her brother saw the urn offerings at the local funeral home, they both decided I could make a better one. It was an interesting but emotional project to work on. Lots of reflection and gravity. One of the last times I visited my MIL in the hospital, she asked me what I was working on in the shop, and of course, it happened to be her urn. I think that's the only time she ever saw me cry.
 
Top