Unusual Request

[specialist]

Haven't been around for a while due to work and health issues, but am back in full swing for now.
I would like to appeal to the brains trust of the forum as I have been asked to make a coffin for a relative who is not far away from kicking the bucket...:C
I would like to know where I could buy the necessary hardware, eg. handles and suchlike? A google search revealled lots of undertakers and coffins, but not the hardware to build them.:doh:

Thank you for your input
Rob

[NicA]

Good luck.

There may be some minor legal requirements that you may need to find out first. I have no experience, but was curious and did a bit of searching.

A Summary Of Australian Funeral Laws – Family Funeral Options (https://www.allenfamilyfuneraloptions.com/a-summary-of-australian-funeral-laws/#:~:text=It%20is%20possible%20to%20make,be%20viewable%20while%20in%20transit.)


Also discussed here previously: https://www.woodworkforums.com/archive/index.php/t-144934.html

[clear out]

A well known Woody carked it here in Sydney a few years back.
Big Stan from up the coast made his family a coffin.
Was a rush job and he wasn’t happy with the finish.
So he rings me up and asks me to give it a final coat and a fad .
Had to wear warm clothes even though it was middle of summer.
I felt Les was having a good chuckle at me as I did it.
No probs with the funeral mob.
Might have been White Lady.
H.

[ian]

Haven't been around for a while due to work and health issues, but am back in full swing for now.
I would like to appeal to the brains trust of the forum as I have been asked to make a coffin for a relative who is not far away from kicking the bucket...:C
I would like to know where I could buy the necessary hardware, eg. handles and suchlike? A google search revealled lots of undertakers and coffins, but not the hardware to build them.:doh:
Hi Rob
try Home | zeusproducts (https://www.zeusproducts.com.au)
or Products | Ashton Manufacturing (https://ashtonmanufacturing.com.au/products/)

Lee Valley also do hardware for caskets, but getting them from the US before the relo departs this life may be a challenge.

Have you tried Carbatech, Lee Valley's local suppliers?

[ian]

adding to the above

#8 wood screws -- steel or brass, cross head or slotted would do for attaching the lid.

If the casket is not to be opened between when the relo is "installed" and the burial, lining the casket with drapery is not really required.



BTW
what wood are you planning on using?

[China]

Some funeral company's will only use proprietary brands.

[apple8]

Some info here (https://salvosfunerals.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Salvos-Funerals-Coffin-and-Casket-pricing.pdf) on prices and styles. In our recent dealings we chose one made from Alder with no screws or nails.

[woodPixel]

I dont think the requirements are too high: Flatpack coffins help the environment, funeral costs and the grieving process - ABC News (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-03/cardboard-flatpack-coffins-environmentally-friendly-option/12719470)

[specialist]

Thanks for the replies fellas, I did eventually find a company in Sydney that was willing to sell to a private person...Apparently the funeral industry is very jealous of its market share...:doh:

I am not sure if I will still be doing it yet, will find out next week.

Rob

[ian]

Thanks for the replies fellas, I did eventually find a company in Sydney that was willing to sell to a private person...Apparently the funeral industry is very jealous of its market share...:doh:

I am not sure if I will still be doing it yet, will find out next week.
Hi Rob

This request of yours caused me to pull out my copy of Lost Art Press's The Woodworker: The Charles H. Haywood Years, Volume IV.
The last article in the volume deals with making coffins.
for want of a better description, if made from wood -- not ply, OSB, chipboard or MDF -- the sides are kerfed to follow the shape of the "standard human" and the base, head and foot of the coffin are nailed in place. After construction, the kerfs are planed to remove the facets.

In your case, making a plain rectangular box is probably the easiest way to approach the task.

[Tonyz]

how is it that I see on TV news and such NOT social media of people in Australia making their own. cardboard even.

Flatpack coffins help the environment, funeral costs and the grieving process - ABC News (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-03/cardboard-flatpack-coffins-environmentally-friendly-option/12719470)
Cardboard Coffins from Leaving Lightly (http://www.cardboardcoffinsaustralia.com.au/)

Byron Cardboard Coffin - Swanborough Funerals (https://www.swanboroughfunerals.com.au/product/byron-cardboard-coffin/)

[woodPixel]

I rather like these three ideas as examples.

-- A forest burial in/as an egg with a tree: Capsula Mundi Capsula Mundi - The biodegradable urn to become a tree after death (https://www.capsulamundi.it/en/)
-- Being put into a concrete mould and used as a reef base: Eternal Reefs >> Living legacies that memorialize our loved ones (https://www.eternalreefs.com/)
-- Nude in a cardboard box, with a nice big tree on top.


The entire funeral industry revolts me. It is a vampiric and predatory money siphon. It needs hard exposure to a powerful light.

Put me back to nature. Let my components be used for the next cycle.

The tree idea pleases me. Something big - like a single Nth American Redwood or a Huon pine. That would be very nice indeed*



* one day, someone might make a particularly nice box out of me! :)

[BoneInspector]

I like this idea, particularly if I can somehow make sure my backside is converted to wood paneling for use in parliament.

[AlexS]

I like this idea, particularly if I can somehow make sure my backside is converted to wood paneling for use in parliament.

In that case, you need to make sure they plant a woolybutt.

[Old Hilly]

Many years ago when our boys were in Venturer Scouts we had a tour of the local crematorium. One interesting fact was that there were only a dozen screws in a coffin, 8 for the plastic handles and 4 for the lid. The screws were removed before the coffin went into the crematator. The coffins were held together by glue and fine wire staples which oxidised to ash in the heat. The only metal bits left were the stainless steel bits from prosthetic devices. Cardiac pacemakers need to be removed before cremation. The explosions they cause can destroy the cremator. The refectory bricks in the bottom of the machine absorb the gold, silver and other precious metals I or on the deceased and are processed when they wear out. It was a really interesting evening.

[AlexS]

Interesting, Hilly, about the screws. One of the few laws about coffins in NSW is that the lid must be screwed down.

(I'm told that it is so the oncologists won't try just one more round of chemo.:D)

[woodPixel]

So the axiom of Another nail in the coffin.... is incorrect!

One is screwed into it!* :)



* I know a quote from Game Of Thrones that would fit here, but it might be a bit rude :)

[AlexS]

Traditionally, flat nails were used in coffins. Because they were being driven into end grain at the head and foot of the coffin, their tendency to turn around and look at the hammer was an advantage.