Looking for urn blank(s)

[Aaron Cheateaux]

Posted to ‘Want to Buy’ but thought it might get more visibility here.

Really good friends’ wife passed away, and he asked for an urn. I’m honored, but don’t have any fantastic options around right now.

Does anyone have nice dry options for sale? They lived here in WA and down in NV, hoping to use something that’s representative.

 

[John Tisdale]

Not an urn-guy but I'm also being asked to do an urn. That you are selecting material is a good thing - making an urn from a log off the deceased person's tree is full of variables.
Here's how I plan to do it:

• When I think WA I think big leaf maple - should be easy to get a kiln-dried plank of eight-qtr big leaf or walnut or ...
• Buy a qt x 2 (1-qt resin, 1-qt hardener) of WEST G-Flex epoxy plus powdered pigment - a jewelers scale is a super investment to mix this stuff.
• Google: stave calculator
• Rip the 8qtr plank according to the stave calculator - if you don't have a reasonable table-saw, use a friends - band-saw is worthless for this
• Make female "cradle-form" from 12mm or thicker baltic birch: 1. Cut 2-squares, 2. Sandwich with screws, mount on lathe and cut circle out of middle to match desired blank, 3. drill 4-holes for dowels, 4. Rip the sandwich to exact half-circles, 5. Glue up with dowels cut to length to give you the needed length. Do a nice job of finishing the inside surface to allow a heavy wax prior to the big glue-up
• Do two big-time messy glue-ups, let each half set overnight, and then glue the two halves together

Voila!! You have a great blank for an urn or a vase. After you screw up the first one or two, you'll be the smartest guy on the planet for this stuff and can offer a line of seriously unique urns. Not a bad answer to your previous post on "Going Pro"

 

[Mike Johnson]

Turning a segmented piece is one of the best solutions when you don't have a large enough blank available to turn an urn.
As John mentioned you can glue a stave type blank together and then turn the inside and outside.
Another option is gluing segmented rings and gluing and turning the piece as you add each ring.
This method is easier to finish the inside as you turn it smooth as each ring gets glued on the stack.
If you are finishing the inside of a stave style blank you will need to reach the bottom of the blank from the opening on top
and turn the inside smooth with the appropriate tools that can reach the bottom and work your way to the top.
This can be a challenge if it is your first go at turning a stave style blank doing the deep dive turning from the bottom up.
You will need a few additional turning tools and accessories for the lathe to make that happen smoothly.