I thought I'd share a project that was both sad and cathartic. After my mother in law passed away, my wife and I were at the funeral home to make arrangements for her service. My MIL had wished to be cremated so we had to pick out an urn. As we looked through the catalog, I had the thought that I'd like to make it instead of buying one. After making sure there were no regulations against it and getting the blessing of the rest of my wife's family, I began to mull over some ideas to make a fitting tribute to a special lady. I love working with and love the warm,rich look of walnut so I settled on that for the main part. But I also have a love affair with white oak and thought I could use some of that for some contrast. I also wanted a design on it but had trouble coming up with anything with any real meaning. I woke up one night with the idea of a family tree as a way to honor her and the good job she did of raising her kids. I picked out a tree design and found a guy that would laser etch it into some quarter sawn white oak that I was going to use on the lid. I decided to buy some birthstone crystals to inlay into it to represent her and each of her 4 children and 4 grandchildren. It was quite therapeutic to make, remembering good times with her as I worked. Anyway here's what I ended up with.
Sorry for your loss. That is a beautidal piece to be proud of. It has a pleasing look about it. The birth stones are a nice contrast. What type of finish is on it?
Very nice! I'm sure she would be honored...sounds like a great lady, sorry for you and your familys loss
Thanks for comments. The finish is 4 coats of Minwax Wipe On Poly-satin finish. I've used that for several years and really like it. No brush marks, dries fast, no drips or sags.
