Thanks: 3
Likes: 18
Needs Pictures: 0
Picture(s) thanks: 0
Results 1 to 15 of 15
Thread: Underground furniture
-
2nd October 2013, 08:27 PM #1Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2005
- Location
- Kihikihi, TeAwamutu
- Age
- 80
- Posts
- 71
Underground furniture
A group of us retirees here in Kihikihi were going to form a coffin club where we built our own coffins and stored them till needed. We hadn't got round to starting when one of our friends takes ill and gets the dreaded diagnose that he has a very aggressive form of pancreatic cancer and has only weeks to live. He asked me to build him a coffin for when the time comes. I have got it to the stage where it only needs staining and the lining set put in. Luckily one of our group is a retired funeral director and he has been able to give advice on the legal requirements, sizes etc. and where we can get the lining for the coffin. The coffin is made of untreated radiate pine except for the handles which are recycled rimu with a pine dowel. the plans came from the internet.DSCF0004.jpgDSCF0005.jpgDSCF0010.jpgDSCF0011.jpgDSCF0014.jpg
-
2nd October 2013, 10:59 PM #2
Sorry to hear about your mate,
Sad, but a very practicle idea as we get older.
good on ya mate
SteveThe fact remains, that 97% of all statistics are made up, yet 87% of the population think they are real.
-
3rd October 2013, 12:25 AM #3
Sorry about your mate.
Great idea - have been thinking about it for a while.
Never found any good links. Care to share yours?
Phil
-
3rd October 2013, 06:32 AM #4
A sad but inspiring story, I'm sure he'll be proud to be sent off by such a great bunch of mates and pleased he's been thought so highly of.
Dragonfly
No-one suspects the dragonfly!
-
3rd October 2013, 07:40 PM #5
Wow, good on you all. Facing the inevitable with dignity. I second the request for plans.
"We must never become callous. When we experience the conflicts ever more deeply we are living in truth. The quiet conscience is an invention of the devil." - Albert Schweizer
My blog. http://theupanddownblog.blogspot.com
-
3rd October 2013, 11:39 PM #6
You'll find the regulations for coffin construction here - https://www.woodworkforums.com/f11/bu...ml#post1611620
-
4th October 2013, 03:10 PM #7Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2005
- Location
- Kihikihi, TeAwamutu
- Age
- 80
- Posts
- 71
I have finished my work on the coffin. It just needs the lining set and the thumbscrews for the lid. Richard, the guy who will be using the 'underground furniture' is coming round to see it this afternoon. He has accepted what is happening and we are trying to keep everything as light hearted as possible under the circumstances. The website I got the plans from is www.diycoffin.com . I used 12 mm ply for the base rather than the solid boards. 7mm would probably have been strong enough but I wanted to be sure that nothing gave way. I also increased the width at the widest part to 26 inches and made the height from the base to the lid 14 inches so that it was a comfortable fit. Building the coffin had mixed emotions but it has been an enjoyable experience. Thanks for all your thoughts. I am sure he will have a great send off.
-
26th May 2014, 09:56 PM #8Member
- Join Date
- Nov 2005
- Location
- Kihikihi, TeAwamutu
- Age
- 80
- Posts
- 71
The coffin is finally going to be used this Wednesday.
Our friend, Richard Mills, was given 4-6 weeks to live after being diagnosed with cancer last September but fought through to pass away on Sunday.
He was valiant to the end and never gave in to the cancer.
-
27th May 2014, 12:45 AM #9
This is the saddest thread I've read on these forums for a long time. I'm very sorry to hear of Richard's passing, and at the same time pleased that you and your mates added the personal touch by making the coffin rather than using a bought one. It came up very nice, by the way.
Hopefully when you make the other coffins for yourselves they'll sit around for a very, very long time before they're used.
Take care,
... Steve... Steve
-- Monkey see, monkey do --
-
27th May 2014, 12:11 PM #10
Kia pai te haere
Haere atu!I would love to grow my own food, but I can not find bacon seeds
-
27th May 2014, 08:35 PM #11
I am very sorry to here you mate lost the battle, but I think what you & he & your other mates decided to do is a wonderful idea.
I don't care if I end up in a cardboadd box, but I would be deeply honoured to end up in a box made for me by friends and or family. Facing the inevitable is never easy, but what a way to go!!!
I thank you for sharing this very touching story
SteveThe fact remains, that 97% of all statistics are made up, yet 87% of the population think they are real.
-
27th May 2014, 08:48 PM #12
Truly sad, but so very beautiful and a wonderful parting gift.
I nearly applied for work as a coffin maker's apprentice but didn't think I could deal with the emotion attached to what I'd be making, even if I would never meet the people it was for. So I imagine that what you've done would have felt 1000 times stronger. Well done, and commiserations.Every time you make a typo, the errorists win.
-
6th June 2014, 08:39 PM #13
R.I.P. Richard Mills, You have left some wonderful mates behind who shared a common interest.
Johnno
Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don't have film.
-
7th June 2014, 07:36 AM #14
The previous pope was sent off in this piece. I was impressed by the simplicity and elegance of the design and construction.
Oops, pic didn't stick! Google; pope coffin, look at the images.
-
7th June 2014, 07:57 AM #15
This has been a very sad thread, but at the same time, I am fascinated by the prospect of a bunch of mates making their own underground furniture (I love that term as well). Imagine making your own coffin from a tree you had milled from your own property? Conceivably, it would be possible to mill the very tree you may have planted?? Think about that
I went to a funeral of a very well known wood turner, where his achievements were celebrated as a heap of his wood work was on display. There were many comments about him to the effect ' If XXXXX could see the timber in his coffin, he would be thinking how many platters or pens he could get out of it'.
My condolences for your loss
Sincerely
Willy
Jarrahland