51 minutes ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Absolutely beautiful DAB! Your wife would be quite proud of your craftsmanship. I'm quessing she would have created a special cross stitch to compliment and perhaps line the box. God bless you for sharing this journey in your life.

Unlikely. I may paint the inside gold. 

second coat of finish on, let it dry overnight, check tomorrow.

 

getting there.

seemed a little tacky still, so let it cure another day.

That is a great box. I have never heard of a side by side, Where did you get the idea?

Done.

 

enough room for two standard cardboard boxes, 5x7x9.

 

Linda's wish was that we be buried together.  so be it.

 

If i ever finish her last counted cross stitch she was working on, it's about 80% done, i'll build a frame for that, and that will be the last project done for her.

Dab, beautifully done sir, if I may be so bold to ask.

When the day comes that you are with your lovely bride in heaven, where is the box to reside? How will it be buried? Or, does it reside in a family tomb?

1 hour ago, John Morris said:

Dab, beautifully done sir, if I may be so bold to ask.

When the day comes that you are with your lovely bride in heaven, where is the box to reside? How will it be buried? Or, does it reside in a family tomb?

 

i have purchased a cremation burial plot next to my parent's plot in Cody, WY, fully paid for, and have also ordered and paid for a marker stone for that plot.  i have left detailed directions to my executor and heirs to put my remains in this box and take it to Cody and to bury us there.  i've also left instructions for a few other items to be placed in the box, such as our wedding rings.

 

assuming i don't spend all my money on lumber, there will be sufficient money to take a nice trip to Cody and do this for someone.  the heirs will get some $$, and the executor will have money to pay for related expenses.

 

death is not a pleasant topic to discuss in polite society, but getting your affairs in order ahead of time takes a lot of emotional decision making away from your loved ones.  my parents did likewise, and when their time came, we knew exactly what they wanted done, and we did it.  "honor your father and mother..."

 

i looked around town in Santa Fe, and too many of the cemeteries are poorly run and neglected.  the one my parents chose and i also chose is city owned, so there is always tax money to maintain it, and they do maintain it nicely.  half or more of the city of Cody is buried there, so there is widespread support to keep it up.  i'll take advantage of that, and we'll end up next to my parents.

 

Linda's parents and daughter are buried back in MD, and there is one plot there reserved for her, but we talked about it, and she did not wish to be placed there, she wished to be buried with me.  so be it.  "love, honor, and cherish..."

 

I checked with the folks at the cemetery, and there are no requirements that your box be a given size, nor be placed inside another vault (like concrete).  I had made a pair of boxes for my parents, about 6x6x12 tall, and that size worked just fine for the hole that they dug.  this box is only about 8-1/2" tall, so it'll be fine.

 

so, yes, think about these things, talk them over with your wife and family.  the last thing you want them doing is spending a pile of money in a manner you would not approve of.

 

when I was at the funeral home, arranging for her cremation, everywhere you looked they had something on display with a price tag attached.  i can see how a spouse or family can easily get talked into spending 20k.  just a direct cremation will suffice sir.  i'll build a box later, and i did.

 

rule of thumb is one cubic inch of interior volume per pound of living weight.  the white cardboard box they returned to me is 5x7x9= 315 cubic inches.  looks like an industry standard sized box.  so you can plan around that.  this box is oversized, but not too big - not like trying to bury a steamer trunk.

 

hope that helps others.

Our cremations have been pre paid. The price included the cardboard boxes. Instructions to our sons...in writing...are to scatter our ashes somewhere in the Saguaro National Forest. Ssshhh. Don't tell. 

spent some time cleaning up the shop this AM, cleaned the TS blade, emptied the shop vacs, emptied the trash can, tossed little scraps, put away bigger scraps, hauled out a large pile of cardboard, and now i have room to move and act for the next project - an end grain cutting board.  it'll get it's own thread.

 

thanks for following along, hope it was helpful.

Beautiful!

Truly inspiring and a testament to your wife.

On 1/8/2023 at 7:19 PM, DAB said:

remains . plot . stone

Not making a joke here, just a similarity: Some of my best work never sees the light of day, as a plumber. And I've several woodcraft projects which may as likely as not rest, completed, among the basement joists.

 

 

On 1/16/2023 at 1:33 PM, DAB said:

220 between coats.  by hand, not the sander.

I'm a big fan of 0000 COPPER wool, of which I'm out. Still slumming it with steel wool, but will replenish with Cu as the Lord permits. Yes, I trust in God, but will still scour garage sales.

 

 

That is a beautiful box.  I really like the way the splines turned out.

 

Quote

death is not a pleasant topic to discuss in polite society, but getting your affairs in order ahead of time takes a lot of emotional decision making away from your loved ones.

 

You are so correct.  I've been a paramedic for about twenty years and my wife has been a nurse about the same and we've both had to deal with patients at the end of their lives.  The most difficult part of end of life care can be the family.  So much Familial strife could be avoided by having a simple conversation early on.