a maple cremains box

It was a beautiful day yesterday, so I spent some time raking and hauling leaves, and some time in the wood shop with the door open so the dog could go in and out.

There's a price I pay for the dog being in the woodshop. She picked up one of my tape measures and carried it off as a chew toy. That led to an interruption in my work to chase, then to play ball, giving me the chance to snatch the tape measure when she was distracted. All in all, it was a very lovely day.

In addition to beginning the process of inlaying lids for a couple dozen boxes, I dug through the wood stored in my shop to find maple for building a crematory urn box. This one is being designed so that it can serve as a memorial stash when the ashes are placed in their resting place, back in the soil from which we've all come. The inside dimensions are taken from the size of the plastic box that ashes are placed in for delivery to loved ones.

The maple has a pleasing and lovely maple sugar smell as it's cut, but the high sugar content makes it susceptible to burning as it's cut. The black marks will disappear with sanding.

The photo of the maple box parts in trial assembly shows a channel routed on the inside of the box sides. This will be fitted with wooden strips after assembly and after the lid is cut from the body of the box, providing a means to hold the lift off lid in place and providing a tight seal. There will be lift tabs routed in place at both ends of the box.

Our dog is gentle and fun loving and did no damage to the tape measure.

Make, fix and create...