Wanted Wanted: Urn sized wood blocks

[naynay]

When I started making pens, I knew I wanted to turn my own urn to hold my ashes. I never thought I would turn an urn for anyone else. On May 1st 2024, we took my beautiful mother off life support. Mom will be cremated, and I want to turn an urn to hold my share of the ashes. I have never done this before, but I don't doubt my ability and will teach myself. This is the most important wood project I will ever complete. Can anyone tell me where I would buy wood large enough to turn an urn? I'm looking for pieces 8" in diameter and 10" high. Mom weighed 175lbs last time I heard, and I am only receiving half of the ashes, so I feel a urn that holds 90 cubic inches is a safe bet. I've only purchased pen blanks and never any wood this large. I'm looking for black walnut with sap. Mom loved her some black walnut ice cream. LOL. I'm willing to look at cherry, olivewood, flaming box elder anything else with spalting. I want this to be special and I feel it is a fitting tribute to my mother. Mom loved my pens. This is not joke, unfortunately, my mom passed and I am working on dealing with our loss. Any advise on where I can purchase pieces of the aforementioned size would be appreciated.

 

[randyrls]

First off, My condolences on the the loss of your mother.

Check with AAW for woodturning clubs in your area. https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturn...pter/Woodturner/AAWConnects/AAW-Connects.aspx
You may be able to find a club there or find woodturners willing to provide you wood.
Many woodturning clubs have wood "swaps". Our local AAW club is blessed with two members who bring us wood they gather up. We sometimes have club wood collecting sessions where we help people remove trees.
Check with landscapers in your area or your local town government. They sometimes need to remove trees. Talk to your neighbors about any trees they are removing.
Check on wood stores / sawyers in the local area. Reno looks like they have Woodcraft stores. Go there or call them to connect with any clubs in the area.
Check out World Wide Woodturners this site has information on urns, especially on making the threaded top of the urn.
Many urns are made of segmented rings.

 

[montmill]

My sympathy at the loss of your mom, esp. in May and Mother's Day. Some tips I learned when I did one for a friend. Size isn't all the critical since your only getting half, most times there's plenty of extra space. Don't worry about the interior or even wall thickness, just have enough room inside to contain the ashes. Expect to wipe your eyes frequently, Peace

 

[Woodchipper]

Sorry to hear of your loss. Good suggestions from the forum.

 

[naynay]

First off, My condolences on the the loss of your mother.

Check with AAW for woodturning clubs in your area. https://www.woodturner.org/Woodturn...pter/Woodturner/AAWConnects/AAW-Connects.aspx
You may be able to find a club there or find woodturners willing to provide you wood.
Many woodturning clubs have wood "swaps". Our local AAW club is blessed with two members who bring us wood they gather up. We sometimes have club wood collecting sessions where we help people remove trees.
Check with landscapers in your area or your local town government. They sometimes need to remove trees. Talk to your neighbors about any trees they are removing.
Check on wood stores / sawyers in the local area. Reno looks like they have Woodcraft stores. Go there or call them to connect with any clubs in the area.
Check out World Wide Woodturners this site has information on urns, especially on making the threaded top of the urn.
Many urns are made of segmented rings.

There is no woodcraft store in Reno(I checked). The woodturner's club here meets on wednesdays and I work nights so that is why I never joined. After the pandemic, the only woodworking store here closed. I expected more but Reno actually has nothing as far as Woodcraft or Rockler. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Curly]

Condolences on you loss.
Try getting in touch with Goby Walnut in Oregon. They might be able to cut some walnut in the sizes you are looking for. Not sure if it will be dry so you might have to rough it out and let it dry for a while. https://gobywalnut.com.

 

[naynay]

Condolences on you loss.
Try getting in touch with Goby Walnut in Oregon. They might be able to cut some walnut in the sizes you are looking for. Not sure if it will be dry so you might have to rough it out and let it dry for a while. https://gobywalnut.com.

Thank you. I found what I needed. The hive never disappoints. - Renay

 

[PreacherJon]

condolences

 

[sorcerertd]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. I'm glad you found what you needed. It sounds like you're about to make something she would appreciate.

 

[Monty]

My deepest sympathies on the loss of your mother.

 

[GaryMGg]

My condolences.
My suggestion is to use a wood your mom preferred; glue-ups work. It doesn't have to be a solid block.

This person is a Woodnet member named packerguy.
He's been making Urns since 2001.

Nelson Woodworks

Wholesale handmade wooden urns

nelsonwoodworks.net

You might want to check with him.

 

[Woodchipper]

I had inquired about cremation urns. One woodworker stated one cubic inch of space per pound of body weight.

 

[Sataro]

So sorry to hear about your Mom. Prayers sent your way.

 

[Ray-CA]

When I started making pens, I knew I wanted to turn my own urn to hold my ashes. I never thought I would turn an urn for anyone else. On May 1st 2024, we took my beautiful mother off life support. Mom will be cremated, and I want to turn an urn to hold my share of the ashes. I have never done this before, but I don't doubt my ability and will teach myself. This is the most important wood project I will ever complete. Can anyone tell me where I would buy wood large enough to turn an urn? I'm looking for pieces 8" in diameter and 10" high. Mom weighed 175lbs last time I heard, and I am only receiving half of the ashes, so I feel a urn that holds 90 cubic inches is a safe bet. I've only purchased pen blanks and never any wood this large. I'm looking for black walnut with sap. Mom loved her some black walnut ice cream. LOL. I'm willing to look at cherry, olivewood, flaming box elder anything else with spalting. I want this to be special and I feel it is a fitting tribute to my mother. Mom loved my pens. This is not joke, unfortunately, my mom passed and I am working on dealing with our loss. Any advise on where I can purchase pieces of the aforementioned size would be appreciated.

I turned one for my Dad a number of years ago and glued up wenge with osage orange for the blank and lid. It was a bit emotional turning it.

Sorry for your loss,
Ray

 

[exoticwo]

I had inquired about cremation urns. One woodworker stated one cubic inch of space per pound of body weight.

That's correct. Here is a calculator that figures out cylinders and you go from there: https://www.omnicalculator.com/math...ylinder_radius:3!inch,cylinder_height:12!inch

 

[Woodchipper]

Thanks but, by checking, I find local funeral homes already have a source of urns of various materials.