urn threads

[gb turner]

I hope that someone in this form is able to help me with puting a set of threads on the lid of an urn I have been asked to turn for my nephew's ashes. A heart wrenching job that I am very flattered by being asked to make him a finale resting place. and I would like to thread the urn so that the lid is able to be turned on tight with out having it come loose at an inconvienient moment. Sorry for any spelling errors but I can't spell my own name with-out spell check and I can't seem to find it in the post menu.
regards
greg

[steck]

Hi Greg,
Welcome to the forum.
This is a sad job for you! My condolences on your sad loss.
This web site shows movie clips of Robert Sorby thread chasers:
http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/movie-clips.htm#cth
I haven't tried it myself - it is still on my "learn to do" list.
Good luck with the urn!

[steck]

And this link show diagrammatic instructions
http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/pdf/th...nstruction.pdf

[NeilS]

Hi Greg

Sorry to hear about your family grief.

Unless you have a lot of time to perfect your wood thread chasing technique, I suggest you opt for a shortcut to get this job done for the family by using a screw cap and matching thread from an existing container. Most likely you will find a suitable size in a plastic jar. Just test to see that you have the right glue to bond firmly with these plastics, some plastics are a bit tricky.

I would cut top of lid off and make this the thread that is set in the body of the urn. Turn a recess inside the throat of the urn to take the outside diameter of the lid and set down where it will be less visible. Glue in place.

Cut the thread off the neck of the container and turn a tenon on the underside of the lid to match the inside diameter of that thread. Test fit on the tenon (not too tightly) and for fit on the urn, mark position, remove and then glue thread on lid.

I would concentrate on the outside appearance of the urn, which is what will be seen the most, and not risk a nice piece with a failed thread (which can happen a lot when fiirst trying to make them) until you perfect your thread chasing technique.

Should you still wish to turn the thread in wood, here is a thread:

Thread Chasing. How?


Neil

[Texian]

Greg,
A "Welcome to the forum" is not the usual happy event this time, but welcome anyway.

Assuming the urn is to be permanently sealed at some point, you might consider making a good fitting lid to be sealed with something like silicone adhesive sealant or epoxy. Just a thought. Am somewhat skilled, but would not consider learning to turn threads on short notice.

[Ed Reiss]

Gregg, our condolences on the passing of your nephew...God will provide.

[Robomanic]

My condolences also, but what a great gift for the family!

I don't have a lot to offer in terms of the thread chasing that is not already mentioned, but both Mozzila Firefox and Google chrome web browsers have spell checking built into text boxes like these. Very similar to MS Word where you get the red squiggle underline and you can right click on the word for suggested corrections.

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
http://www.google.com/chrome

[tea lady]

How about some other lid-holder-oner system? Here's a really bad drawing of an idea. Two posts extend from the body of the form to above the lid. A wedge or nice carved stick goes through holes in the posts across the lid to hold it in place. Hope that makes sense.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Or to simplify on TL's idea, a snugly fitting "drop in lid", then drilling from either side of the top of the urn to take a pair, or more, of slightly tapered pins.

Much easier to align the grain between lid & urn for neat appearance, if turned from one piece, than with a thread.

Otherwise, I think NeilS is on the right path with gluing in threaded fittings. Wooden threads not only tend to need a lot of practice, but are very heavily reliant on the type of wood being used... and I'm sure you'd rather select a nice wood for your nephew's urn based on appearance rather than "how good it'll hold a thread."

[joe greiner]

I second the motions of using something other than threads. This is not the time to "go to school" on thread chasing - it's a pretty steep hill to climb, or tedious enough by hand.

Also, welcome anyway. The "Welcome Wagon" is a recent addition to the forums.

And best wishes to you and yours.

Joe

[gb turner]

I'd like to thank everyone that has answered my question on threading an urn. I was not looking for a sympathy vote for the first subject I took part in but it is nice to here that there is so many people with compation for someone that they have not met. It humbles me to be a part of your club.

I think that Neil is on the right track. Glueing in a set of threads is the way I had thought of threading the urn in the first place. I could not find a nice brass thread to use and had not concidered plastic because most glue does not stick well to plastic.

I think that Annn-maria has an interesting theory with the stick fit top. It is something that I will be looking into a bit more before I actualy make the urn.

Again thank-you all for the in-put I value it greatly.

regards
Greg

[oldiephred]

How about looking at it from a different perspective? It is quite commom to make urns with a bottom that is flush with , or slightly recessed from, the edges and held on with screws or glued and sometimes a seal is used to keep it tight. The only time the screws are visible is if someone turns it over to inspect it for some strange reason. Around here the actual ashes are in a plastic bag inside the urn so leakage is not a problem.The top can than be made to look like it might be removable if desirable.
Sincerely sorry for your loss. You should be honored that people consider your work quality worthy for this purpose.

[Toolin Around]

I hope that someone in this form is able to help me with puting a set of threads on the lid of an urn I have been asked to turn for my nephew's ashes. A heart wrenching job that I am very flattered by being asked to make him a finale resting place. and I would like to thread the urn so that the lid is able to be turned on tight with out having it come loose at an inconvienient moment. Sorry for any spelling errors but I can't spell my own name with-out spell check and I can't seem to find it in the post menu.
regards
greg

Know where you're coming from. I turned urns for my 3 hour old nephew, and my mom and dad, even the odd friend and pet. It never got easier. It's a bit weird to have your mom say, I'd like you to turn one like that for me...

Since I've noticed you're from BC where I'm originally from... I also used to turn urns for the funeral industry there and there are a few things that may make this easier for you.

Most of the places I was supplying wanted urns that were accessible from the bottom not the top. It stops the very problem you describe from happening. They preferred a simple ply access door that was screwed on with 2 screws. After they fill the urn they glued them shut with silicone themselves to make sure they were sealed and used the screws to hold the door in place till it was set.

[Bill Travel]

Why does an Urn need any type of removable top or bottom ? Shouldn't it be screwed/glued in place once the ashes have been placed inside ? That certainly would prevent the accidental spilling of ashes.

[NeilS]

Why does an Urn need any type of removable top or bottom ? Shouldn't it be screwed/glued in place once the ashes have been placed inside ? That certainly would prevent the accidental spilling of ashes.

It depends Bill on how the urn is to be used. If it is intended that the urn will be a repository for the ashes then gluing/screwing the 'lid' in place works fine.

However, if the urn is to be used to carry and spread the ashes (often during a ceremonial event) then safe carriage and easy dispersal requires a secure lid that can be readily removed at the required time.

Neil