# sadie's final resting place...



## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

I finished an urn today for my dog Sadie. It's a piece of box elder that I actually got from Texas Timbers here back in '08. It's pretty wood but it's a pain to turn. Box elder is usually pretty soft. Easy to get tearout. Ended up sharpening up my tools and as usual, the Thompson ones did the job. Lacquered and buffed it. It's about 10 1/2" tall by 6 1/2" wide. 
Mike Hawkins:smile:


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

A beautiful piece Mike. A classy place for your best friend to rest. Fantastic work. My thoughts are with you my friend.
Ken


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## mickit (Oct 5, 2009)

Very nice Mike...a fitting tribute to your friend(and as long as she's in your heart, she's alive)
Best wishes


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## Barry Ward (Mar 22, 2008)

*sadie's final resting place*

That is beautifull Mike,I'm sure you miss her dearly.


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## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

that looks great wish i would of done something like that for my dog


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

nice peice. and it sucks losing your pet


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## JMC'sLT30 (Oct 26, 2010)

Sorry for your loss Mike. That is a beautiful peice of work. The wood is incredible.


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## RetiredLE (Jan 20, 2011)

A beautiful piece done from the heart. I can tell....


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## Hammered Toes (Mar 16, 2011)

Beautiful work for a beautiful friend. The Good Lord sure knew what he was doing when he created the dog. A friend once told me the best prayer he had ever heard was, "Lord, please help me to be the great person my dog thinks I am." And I say AMEN to that!


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## Bonanza35 (Jan 20, 2011)

Had to show this to my wife. We both got misty-eyed. How cool is it to be able to express your feelings for your buddy with art??? Special piece, Mike. Thanks for sharing. Our thoughts are with you.


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## jrflat (Nov 2, 2009)

Very nice Mike, I feel for you as well, I had to put my 12 y/o Golden down in February and I wish I had been able to do the same thing but I am not that advanced yet, I ended up buying a nice Urn online for him. That is a great was to honor your pet and the inscritption on the bottom a a great touch, thanks for putting this up it is great to see others that have such a love for their pets.


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## don716 (Mar 1, 2008)

Special piece for a special dog. RIP. Thanks for sharing.


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## jdixon (Nov 21, 2007)

Beautiful piece and a wonderful tribute to your dog. Love the words on the bottom.

John


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## Bonanza35 (Jan 20, 2011)

Mike, I hate to bring this one back up but I wondered if you could share some wisdom with a newbie on urns. I have a pet boarding business and occasionally I want to do something extra when a special customer loses one that I'm particularly close to (like last night). 
Some urns I see on line have threaded lids which is not in my skill set. Also, unless I stockpile a couple (which sorta takes something away from it) I can't really wait months to twice turn one so the lid fits tight. This is my conundrum. Any advice?


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## wildwood (Jan 25, 2011)

Sorry for your loss, urn is just beautiful.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Bonanza35 said:


> Mike, I hate to bring this one back up but I wondered if you could share some wisdom with a newbie on urns. I have a pet boarding business and occasionally I want to do something extra when a special customer loses one that I'm particularly close to (like last night).
> Some urns I see on line have threaded lids which is not in my skill set. Also, unless I stockpile a couple (which sorta takes something away from it) I can't really wait months to twice turn one so the lid fits tight. This is my conundrum. Any advice?


At first I didn't follow your question, but now I do. If you don't want to stockpile any large blanks (which can take years to dry) the next best thing would be to get some 1x planks and glue up enough layers to get the size blank you want. Alternate contrasting wood species or maybe use the same wood and just put a couple of thinner contrasting pieces in like racing stripes. If you go this route, you can also bandsaw the pieces into rings and that will eliminate a lot of hollowing. 
Mike Hawkins


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## Bonanza35 (Jan 20, 2011)

firehawkmph said:


> At first I didn't follow your question, but now I do. If you don't want to stockpile any large blanks (which can take years to dry) the next best thing would be to get some 1x planks and glue up enough layers to get the size blank you want. Alternate contrasting wood species or maybe use the same wood and just put a couple of thinner contrasting pieces in like racing stripes. If you go this route, you can also bandsaw the pieces into rings and that will eliminate a lot of hollowing.
> Mike Hawkins


Sorry I wasn't clear. All my hollowing to this point has been green wood which obviously presents some issues with a tight fitting lid since the opening will likely go oval while drying. I considered rough turning/returning but that takes more time than I have in that situation. 
I was thinking about turning one from green wood but turning it pretty thin, letting it dry and then see if I can make a lid that fits half way decently. Might not be possible. 
I hadn't considered going the segmented route. Frankly that intimidates me a bit. But it would be a good solution if I could pull it off.


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## slatron25 (Dec 18, 2007)

Bonanza,
You might want to consider using PVC threaded parts in your urns. Check out this page for more info about it.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Bonanza35 said:


> I hadn't considered going the segmented route. Frankly that intimidates me a bit. But it would be a good solution if I could pull it off.


If you do each section as one piece, it's just a glue up. Nothing precise about it. Just cut squares or circles of the 1x wood and glue them up in a stack. If you want to highlight it, just get some contrasting wood and alternate a couple of layers with it. If you cut the wood into squares, I would cut the corners off on a bandsaw just to make it easier to turn. It's simpler than it sounds. 
Mike


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## Bonanza35 (Jan 20, 2011)

Thanks for the advice, and I didn't intend to hijack this thread. My apologies.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

No apologies necessary Bon'za. I have to glue one up for my cousin. He saw a pic of the urn for Sadie and wants me to make one for his dog that passed away last year. 
Mike


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## jharris (Jan 8, 2011)

A beautiful job Mike. Obviously a labor of love. 

Jeff


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