When the time comes!!

[james mcgrew]

and it will or is it just halloween!!!

robert has done something definantly different with aspire!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_DTh7PmKN4

[john blile]

I would have never thought of that, very good job.
you fellows are a real inspiration
john

[Jim Underwood]

Is this an actual coffin or just a Halloween prop?

[Bill W. White]

What kind of bits is he using to shape the casket? Great job
Bill 'W.

[james mcgrew]

lokks like a big ballnose to me!

[Robert Alexander]

Is this an actual coffin or just a Halloween prop?

What kind of bits is he using to shape the casket? Great job
Bill 'W.

Jim
This is a real casket not a prop for Halloween. I have made caskets before, but they took a lot longer to build, and I could not do the curved lid that most people seem to prefer. Until I got into 3-d carving with my Camaster.

I intend to market these caskets to people who want to take more control over the cost of funerals for their loved ones. This particular walnut look casket will cost less than $1500.00. Also I hate using fancy hardwoods for an item that will be put into the ground after a few hours of use. I saw a photo of a mantel that Jim McGrew did a few months back to some MDF, and it looked just like cherry wood. So I figured how to paint the look of expensive hardwoods on MDF and sanded plywood which this casket is made of.

Bill

I used a 2 inch radius bit for the top section. Then a 1 inch radius bit and 1/4 inch end mills for the rest of the parts.

[Nicholas Bukky]

Robert,
Are there regulations and specs for building caskets?

Or does it depend on where you are??

Just wondering,
Nick

NICE JOB!

[Robert Alexander]

Robert,
Are there regulations and specs for building caskets?

Or does it depend on where you are??

Just wondering,
Nick

NICE JOB!

Nick as for regulations:

Only 3 states(Oklahoma, West Virgina, and Louisiana) have a strong ($$$$) funeral lobby in their state legislation which stops small shops from selling caskets (but you can sell hope boxes for moving the deceased). Louisiana is trying right now in court to stop a group of Monks from selling handmade caskets (that will backfire on them).
Back in the 1990's the federal Government passed laws against the funeral industry to try to stop the abuses that were happening to consumers. Markups on caskets were as high as 1200% in some areas. And the cost of a casket is usually the biggest item in a funeral( which is around $6000 and up). Today is you were to go to most funeral homes and told them that you were going to purchase a casket from somewhere else, but wanted their services for embalming viewing ect. They can't charge you more to make up for lost revenue. Or force you to buy their caskets.

As for building a casket I got plans from Rockler Hardware for the first 2 that I built some years back. The only real area that you would be concerned about when building a casket is that it fits inside the concrete or fiberglass burial vault. You can call most funeral homes, and they will give the size needed. You can also check out more information at http://www.funerals.org/ for lots of information.

It is something to think about. Eventually everyone will face it so knowledge is a good thing to have on your side when faced with the death of a loved one. Funerals are for the living not the dead. There are lots of people who have built caskets for family. People build cradles when a person comes into the world, why not build one when they are leaving this world.

[Jim Underwood]

How long did it take to carve the lid?

How long does it take you to build the whole casket?

[Robert Alexander]

How long did it take to carve the lid?

How long does it take you to build the whole casket?

Jim
I took about 40 minutes for each side to do the lid.

And 4 hours cutting on the Camaster for the other parts, maybe 2-3 hours to put it together, and couple of days(I needed to let it dry between coats of paint ) for the base coat painting and wood grain painting /staining. I have not done any of the cloth interior stuff yet, because I am waiting for a upholstery stapler , so I do not how long for that part of the assembly. But realistically I figure 5 days for the complete build.

[Nicholas Bukky]

Robert thanks for the info!

I'm not looking to build them for a living but you never know what I might need to do to make the morgage!

You might be able to get away from carving the underside of the lid if you upolster it right. Just a thought for saving a little time.....

Thanks again and nice work!

Nick

[Jim Underwood]

Robert thanks for the info. Is this your own design, or are you still using the plans you linked to above?

Can you give us pix of the finished product?

[Robert Alexander]

Robert thanks for the info!

I'm not looking to build them for a living but you never know what I might need to do to make the morgage!

You might be able to get away from carving the underside of the lid if you upolster it right. Just a thought for saving a little time.....

Thanks again and nice work!

Nick

Robert thanks for the info. Is this your own design, or are you still using the plans you linked to above?

Can you give us pix of the finished product?

Nick
Why not build caskets. There is a market for caskets that are made by local woodworkers in almost every state.

I did the routing on the inside to see if it would be possible to put in a 3-D image on inside of the lid for people who might want maybe a mountain scene or something that was important to them, but I will be using fabric on the inside of the lid.

Jim
The casket that I made is my own design. I would hope people would like the look of wood only, and not with all the metal trim. Which adds to the cost.