A couple of weeks ago I asked a question if anyone had ever built a casket before. Thank you to everyone who responded, but I didn't find a lot of information to go on so I thought I would post a little about my experience.
To start with, it is important to know the inside dimensions of the concrete liner that the casket is placed in. This liner keeps the dirt on the surface of the grave from collapsing when the casket starts to degrade. The liner we used was pretty standard at 28" W x 86" L x 25" D. The liner is casket shaped as well so the lid had a dome shape to it and the depth from the center was probably closer to 28". If the casket (or person) is oversized, they do make bigger liners, they just cost a little more. I think there is variability though in what is offered, so definitely check with the funeral home to get the actual dimensions of the liner they are going to use. If the casket doesn't fit inside the liner, it is not a simple thing to switch it out and it would be a really bad way to end the funeral service for sure.
I had a bunch of cherry on hand so I decided to make it out of that, even though our friend said she was totally fine with a pine box. I don't think there is anything wrong with using pine, and in many ways there are some distinct advantages, but we thought we would make it a little nicer because we could and in the end, I'm glad we did.
I started with a piece of 3/4 cherry plywood as the base and added 3" x 1" trim around it, secured with dominos to help register as well as make sure it was a strong joint. There was no need to use cherry ply, but again, I had some on hand so that's what we went with. Under that layer I built up the bottom with another layer of 4"x 1" trim that left a 1" reveal between the two layers.
After building a solid base, I stuck with a simple frame and panel construction for the sides. I ended up using solid panels because I wasn't 100% confident in the strength of plywood for the sides. It turns out I was being overly cautious and the total number of handles spread out the weight very well.
One word on being caution though, the funeral home was NOT very careful about hitting the handles getting the casket through the doors and into the Hearse. They called me the day of the funeral and said one of my handles "fell off". When I got there, the brackets, which were glued and screwed in from the front and back, were both loose. It would have taken a heck of a hit to make that happen. I personally watched then hit it three more times after that getting it through some tight places. We are all human however and I was able to fix things, but when building, think about what would happen if they hit a corner or something.
My wife did the interior and that was quite a job in itself. I think it turned out beautifully though. The bottom was made from a 1/4" piece of plywood with 4" foam wrapped with fabric and stapled to the backside. This piece fit right in once the sides were done. The sides were stapled directly into the wood with a layer of thin batting between the fabric and wood. We had a overhand on the lid that covered the staples as well as glued a piece of lace over the corner. It turned out really nice. (don't forget to attach the handles from the back before doing this, I had to cut the bottom off and redo it because I forgot this step)
The lid was by far the most difficult from a design standpoint. I eventually settled on the design I have more out of time constraints than anything else. I didn't have the confidence to build it up higher with the large miters that it would require so I punted. It still came out OK, but I would do it differently next time. Also, in case anyone was wondering why did I build it on my pool table, I wanted to make sure that I had as good of a flat surface as I could get and it worked out well. A little sawdust and shavings to clean up was a small price to pay for perfectly flat.
Here are a couple of finished photos:
In all, this was the most challenging woodworking project I've taken to date. If I were talking to someone looking to do something similar I would probably give the following advice
1. It will take more time than you think to finish the project. I consider myself an intermediate woodworker with more theory than experience, but there is very little information on the web to help you out. You will be figuring things out as you go and, if you're not careful, you will let perfection paralyze you. This is going to be a hard one because you are most likely making this for someone you care for and you will want it to be perfect.
2. There was more stress than I thought in building it. I had a 10 day window and it was still down to the wire. I worked my regular job during that time of course, but at the end I ended up doing a marathon session of 24 hours to deliver it on time. This is one project that you can't back out of if something doesn't go right. For this reason alone, I wouldn't suggest taking this on for someone that you are too close to. The emotions of the time on top of the pressure might turn a wonderful gesture into a nightmare.
3. If possible, build it with someone. Because there isn't any plans, it is really good to bounce ideas off someone as well as break up the tasks.
4. Realize that the interior can take a significant amount of time. My wife could have simplified everything, but she really wanted to make it special.
5. There are multiple ways a casket could be built. Do what is in your wheelhouse and you will figure out a way.
6. Find someone about the same build and have them model the casket at different points. We realized that we were just a little too narrow with our first design and I had to modify the sides. It made a huge difference though for the viewing.
7. Be prepared to be affected more than you thought when you see the casket at the viewing. After all the stress and work that went into the casket, it was like all the mourning had been held back so I could focus on the build. I couldn't stay in the room at first because of the emotion. Instead of seeing all the flaws like I usually do, it looked absolutely beautiful. It meant so much to the family as well. Originally I took on the project to help with funeral cost (she was only 40 and has 4 children) but in the end there was a very comforting feeling we all had that she was being buried in something made for her by people who loved her. It was like she was surrounded by a hug when she was placed in the ground.
In all, I'm not sure that I would build another one. I certainly wouldn't build one for my wife or children and probably not a parent. I think there is so much going on that I would prefer to grieve and comfort others instead of disappear in the shop. We all grieve in our own way though, so that might be perfect for someone else. That being said, it was one of the most satisfying experiences in my life and I will always remember it. It was also good to take that off the husband's plate as well and he was extremely grateful for everything that went into it. I guess it depends...
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Originally Posted by Mel Fulks
