Furneral Urns - Dimensions And Volume?

[Seedy Potter]

I have been asked by a dear friend to make her funeral urn.  I have searched here to find recommendations about how large to make it.  I saw that one potter recommended 5# of clay, but that's not exactly what I need to know. What volume inside should I be trying to create?  In other words... Does anyone know approximately, on average, what volume of ashes make up the remains?  

[Mark C.]

You can google that but it's a bit smaller than 1/2 gallon.

Mark

[Benzine]

There have a been several discussions, of such a thing in other topics.  Just search "Urn" and you'll find at least a couple topics, that go into good depth.  

 

The quick answer is, you need about 1 cubic inch (2.54 cm) of space, for every 1 lb. (.45 kg) of the person's body weight.  So for a person that weighs 140 lbs., you'd need 140 cubic inches of interior space in the urn.  

 

Here is a calculator for figuring out the cubic space, in a cylinder:  http://www.online-calculators.co.uk/volumetric/cylindervolume.php

 

I entered some quick  numbers, and a 6 inch wide, buy 6 inch tall urn, would give you 196 cubic inches.  But keep in mind, that is the interior dimensions.  The outside, would be a bit larger.

 

I have made a couple urns, but had to do a little more calculating, as they tapered a bit to the bottom.  

[GEP]

It should be the size of a Quaker Oats container. This is based on something I saw on tv once, about a guy who will scatter the ashes of the departed from his helicopter. He used Quaker Oats containers to do it, because it was the right size.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

The dimensions are less stringent if the family is simply scattering the ashes and keeping (or smashing) the jar. If she's choosing to be entombed in a columbarium, the necessary dimensions are

From Google, quickly:

There are two different sizes of niches available in the Columbarium:

Size A - Single or Double Niche.

7.25 inches/18.4cm wide x 7 inches/17.8 cm high x 12 inches/30 cm deep.

 

From personal experience, keeping that half gallon menasurement in mind is pretty close for most women. Six foot men tend to need a slightly larger volume.

 

If the family is travelling by air for a ceremony, the lid shouldn't be sealed until you get past security on the other side. Yes, they check that. You need to take the urn in the carry on, and don't loose sight of the carry on for a second. No one wants their loved one stolen or lost.

 

I actually sat down with a funeral director once who was gracious enough to answer my questions about the requirements for various funeral urns for various circumstances. I have my last sale of the season this weekend, or I'd just put all the info down right now. Pm me if you need any specific information, and ill get back to you in the next day or so.

 

This applies to any future readers of this thread as well.

[TJR]

Seedy;

I am the potter who said 5 lbs. I don't have the dimensions off by heart. It is a large jar with a domed lid and a knob. I made two jars for my mom, and two for myself. I know the size is correct as I placed her ashes inside.

Then you epoxy the lid closed. I made the two jars one for the mantel and one for her grave.

TJR.