This is an urn built for a friend of mine. She is fine – just planning ahead. Details of the build are in a blog post. Quick recap – this is walnut that I cut from a slab. The box was from one slab, and the top from another (appeared to be from the same tree). The grain was in all directions, but overall this didn’t present too many issues and gave a lot of visual interest once the finish was applied.
The box itself has mitered corners with walnut splines. The base is a frame and panel, all walnut, also with walnut splines.
The top is held in a groove on the top (just glued in the center of the short side to allow wood movement) and beveled.
The cross is maple with a half-lap joint holding the pieces together. Finish is Odie’s Oil.
As a bonus, I took the cutoffs from the box (as it was a bit too tall) and made a little catch-all tray. The bottom is a piece of the board that I had resawed (but was too narrow for use on the urn). Also finished with Odie’s Oil.
[Added one more picture of the "tray"] Various pictures
Beautiful! You sure know how to pick some great walnut, and how to show it all off! Best construction detail has to be the shadow groove around the top!
Thanks Splintergroup! This slab added a few more steps to produce the "board" but ended up being very nice in the end.
Steve - thanks! The tray is much prettier in person than the picture shows. Having the mitered pieces left from the urn - I thought of a frame, but then with the resawn board, decided a tray would be better.
Ron - thanks!
Pottz - thank you! Hope to get it to her this week.
Jim - thanks! I like the design but I think the next one may have a more vertical design. Still like to have it so the temporary plastic "urn" will slip inside.
Jeff - thank you! I'm a big fan of walnut and was glad my friend agreed.
Tony - I understand. I don't often listen to music in the shop but as I was working on the splines I hooked up my little radio with the local Christian station. Several songs were in reference to Heaven, and I reflected that likely I was the only listener who was working on a burial urn while those songs were playing. Was one of those perspective moments that projects like this bring to the heart.
Corelz125 - thanks! Considering this took me a good week plus, I doubt mass production is possible!! I did get a few of the slabs so have more of that walnut for future projects.
Beautiful urn, Barb! I’m with Splint—that perfectly centered lid stands out and clearly demonstrates you know what you’re doing. I saw in your blog that you use space balls (cut in half) on the short sides to keep the lid centered. Is there any reason you don’t use them on the long sides too? Are these just unnecessary there?
The new photo of the tray shows how nice it looks. Positioning the tray so the light isn’t mostly bouncing right back into the lens makes a huge difference.
I think it’s good that you’re building these urns ahead of time. I bet that’s still tough, but I can’t imagine how difficult would be after the fact.
Ron - actually I put a dab of glue in the center of the short side, and then the space balls (cut in half as my groove wasn't so deep) in the long sides. I figured the space balls would allow for wood movement across the board, and the glue would help with positioning.
Lighting makes all the difference, especially with highly figured wood.
The first urn I built was mine - figured I should just make what I like (simple walnut). Having faced all the decisions most recently when my dad died, well, just felt like my urn could best be my choice. Then my husband decided he wanted me to build his. Shared that with my friend, and that's how the third one happened. Building the case for my dad's flag was a project that was quite emotional for me.
