The next day, I cut the tops of the dowels off, and my dad smoothed the cuts over with a chisel.

This saw blade had too much of a kerf (the teeth pointed slightly outwards perpendicular to the blade), so I put a few layers of masking tape on one side to prevent scratching.

Once that was done, my dad resanded it, and I redrilled the holes. Today we oiled all of the pieces. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. I'll put some pictures up later.

NOTICE
 

Impending woodshop project alert!

I have been contacted by a person wanting me to build them a full-fledged casket (to their plans) to become a display item in their yet to be completed purchase hearse. :eek:

Should their deal go through, I will get the order to build.

Should I get the order to build, I will start a thread so that you may monitor the progress and see the finished product.

Whee! Company!

As promised, here are the oiled pieces, after drying for a couple days.

Time to insert the inserts. Just stick 'em in, and whack 'em down with a mallet.

edit: This shows the worst of the dowel-refill/redrill board, so you can see the final result. The bad bits are in back, so they won't be very visible at all.

Here's a contrast of the oiled sides with inserts to an older picture.

Next is the plywood backing. The face is extremely thin and prone to chipping, so I've been masking it off with masking tape, and putting a thin layer of glue around the edge. Next, we will put stiffening wood strips on the back. On its own, eighth-inch plywood doesn't feel much sturdier than the cardboard on cheap Best Buy entertainment centers.

Looks much nicer though.

The project is coming along well. Good job so far. Even the couple mistakes with the drill holes are so small nobody would notice them if you hadn't pointed them out to the ENTIRE world on the internet.

If the putty on the holes bothers you, you can always get a finishing touch up kit and try to blend the color of the putty. It looks fine to me though. Once you have stuff on those shelves, you won't be able to see a thing, even when looking for them.

Is that a home-made bow saw hanging on the wall in the last picture you posted? Does it see much use? I don't have a band saw, and am in the process of building a bow saw instead. I started in the summer. (Haven't been able to spend much time in the shop lately.)

Heh. Thanks. I'm actually pretty happy with the result.It was actually dowels, not putty.No, it was purchased. I don't think it's used much, but we've got a number of saws.

Re: NOTICE
 

Cool project.

Casket or Coffin? ;)

You answer your own question, my dear.

The quote specifically states "casket". Yes, I know the difference.

Actually, the casket will be easier. I've built coffins and that angle at the shoulder is tough to make sturdy enough for repeated use, unlike those that only need to be used once and buried forever. Or burned. I should point out though that persons being cremated are baked in a cardboard box and not the casket you bought for them. I read the textbook for future funeral directors once.

The hardware is what concerns me the most...I can't just go to the hardware aisle of my local Home Despot and buy casket handles, hinges and latches, not to mention the decorative touches. I'll have to order these online from a retailer of such items. I have several manufacturers already lined up but this stuff is EXPENSIVE! Sheesh!

Maybe I can sneak in a piano hinge instead and hope he doesn't notice.

Brian

I wanna be baked in Le Creuset .

When we were picking out a casket for my Dad, they had some pine boxes that were built with no metal, for cremations. The whole thing was glued and pegged with no nails, screws, hinges or handles.

Are you just reinforcing the edge with glue? The project will still be a knock down, won't it?
BTW, super job, you done good. :beer: