All of our caskets are hand crafted and made of solid wood, except for the bottoms and the upholstered lid panels which are made of plywood. We have made caskets from walnut, yellow pine, red oak, aromatic cedar, cherry, combinations of walnut and pine, walnut and maple, and have plans to build a “speculation” casket out of walnut and quartersawn white oak.
All of the caskets, with the exception of the “cowboy” or “toe-pincher”, feature dovetailed corners on the box. The “cowboy” or “toe-pincher” features exposed splines at the end corners and inlaid splines at the middle joint.
Casket Construction
The mitered lid portions feature either hidden or exposed splines depending upon the model. The caskets have a clear finish applied which will be either a satin pre-catalyzed lacquer or a satin polyurethane. The interiors of the casket box have one coat applied and the exteriors receive 2 coats. The lids have one coat underneath the upholstered sections and 2 coats on the remaining surfaces.
Appropriate sanding is done prior to the finishing process and then between coats of finish. Glues used in the construction of the caskets include a polyurethane glue for the dovetails and a water resistant glue for the rest of the wood joinery. The upholstered lid panels are attached using a polyurethane construction adhesive. The hardware used is produced specifically for the casket industry which includes separable hinges so that the lids can be removed if necessary during the preparation stage.
All of the handle hardware is bolted through the box with a backing plate and is secured on the inside by anti-vibration lock nuts.
Any upholstered areas that are padded use 12 oz., 100% polyester, resin-bonded batting.
Our upholstering material is currently a micro-suede fabric that is velvet in texture which enhances the natural beauty of the fabric due to the inherent shading of the material. This fabric has built in stain protection.
All of our caskets feature a curtain that separates the two halves of the casket and a “throw” that folds out over the front and end of the casket when the head lid is opened.
