[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-665003-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":79,"doc-detail-665003-en":129},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":72,"head_meta":74,"extra_data":76,"updated_unix":78},105,"en","coffin-chapter-21","COFFIN Chapter 21","","COFFIN Chapter 21 explains how an individual can lawfully build a personal coffin, covering practical woodworking choices and construction rationale. It cites the U.S. Federal Trade Commission “Funeral Rule” on purchasing and delivery handling, and discusses alternatives to routine embalming. The chapter then shifts to hands-on making: choosing a Southern Counties approach, planning the bottom board dimensions, creating bevels, and shaping long edges for smoother bending. It also references 19th-century England sources and recounts a 2014 build experience.",{"@graph":14,"@context":71},[15,34,54],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/","Literature",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/coffin-chapter-21/665003/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":48,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":49,"interactionStatistic":50},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/coffin-chapter-21/665003.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"SundayMiles","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29",true,{"@type":51,"interactionType":52,"userInteractionCount":22},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":53},"ViewAction",{"@type":55,"mainEntity":56},"FAQPage",[57,63,67],{"name":58,"@type":59,"acceptedAnswer":60},"Is it legal to provide your own coffin instead of using a funeral home’s casket?","Question",{"text":61,"@type":62},"Yes. The chapter cites the Federal Trade Commission’s “Funeral Rule,” which states the funeral provider cannot refuse to handle a casket or urn you bought elsewhere and cannot charge extra fees for doing so.","Answer",{"name":64,"@type":59,"acceptedAnswer":65},"Does the chapter suggest skipping embalming?",{"text":66,"@type":62},"Yes. It states that no state law requires routine embalming for every death, noting some states may require embalming or refrigeration only under certain timing or handling conditions.",{"name":68,"@type":59,"acceptedAnswer":69},"How does the chapter recommend laying out the coffin bottom board?",{"text":70,"@type":62},"It instructs adding roughly 2 inches to the builder’s height for the bottom board length, measuring width at the shoulders and adding 1 inch for the breast width, then drawing a centerline and marking head, maximum width (18 inches down), and foot widths before connecting the layout points.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":73,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":75,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":77,"site_id":7},665003,1793284998,{"code":4,"msg":80,"data":81},"success",[82,86,89,93,98,103,108,113,118,121,125],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":83,"show_sort_weight":84,"slug":85},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":90,"show_sort_weight":91,"slug":92},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":94,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":99,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":104,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":114,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":116,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":119,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":120},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":122,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":123,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":124},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":126,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":127,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":128},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":80,"data":130},{"doc_id":77,"user_id":131,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":132,"doc_module":4,"category_id":26,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":133,"file_id":134,"file_url":135,"file_type":136,"file_size":137,"view_count":22,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":114,"language":138,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":139,"faqs":140,"seo_title":141,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":78,"read_time":142},1099529839202,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","COFFIN Chapter 21  \nYou have the right.  \nhen people hear  \nWreact one of two  \nthat I made my own coffin at the age of 46, they ways: “You are so strange and morbid. That’s  \njust weird. Who does that?”Or,“I have always wanted to make my own coffin.”  \nAs a furniture maker, I can’t imagine asking some other woodworker to make a crate for my final remains. Or, even worse, asking my family to buy a mass-manufactured coffin when I can put one together from home-center pine.  \nYes, this is legal. The Federal Trade Commission’s “Funeral Rule” is specific about it. You have the right to:  \n“Provide the funeral home with a casket or urn you buy elsewhere. The funeral provider cannot refuse to handle a casket or urn you bought online, at a local casket store, or somewhere else – or charge you a fee to do it. The funeral home cannot require you to be there when the casket or urn is delivered to them.  \nMake funeral arrangements without embalming. No state law requires routine embalmingfor every death. Some states require embalming or refrigeration if the body is not buried or cremated within a certain time; some states don’t require it at all. In most cases, refrigeration is an acceptable alternative   ”  \nCoffin Pl. 12  \n10\"   12\"  \n18\"  \nB. Morrow-Cribbs Inv. Del. etSculp  \nCHAPTER 21 369  \nNot the only shape. Paul Hasluck’s book on coffins also featured this image of coffins in the American pattern in the early 20th century.  \nEvery state has different details about exactly how it works, but the short answer is: Yes, you can do it.  \n But Why Now?   \nI’m not terminally ill, and I hope to be around for several more decades.  \nSo building a coffin now might seem a waste of storage space. I have the opposite opinion: It creates storage space.  \nThis coffin has removable shelves. So it will hold books (or record albums or bourbon bottles) until I die. Then it will hold me. It’s also a great yard decoration during Halloween – my wife’s favorite holiday.  \nSurprisingly, there is not much literature out there about making coffins. If you want to read more about the details of the process in 19th-century England, I recommend “Coffin-making & Undertaking,”edited by Paul Hasluck (Cassell & Co., 1913) .  \n“Coffin-making & Undertaking” details construction of two types of coffins: the Lancashire pattern and the Southern Counties pattern. The Lancashire form uses sides that are bent around the bottom board using a fire lit inside the coffin. The Southern Counties form uses sides that are bent around the bottom using saw kerfs to help encourage the bend.  \nIn the summer of 2014, a group of friends and I built coffins using both methods. While the Lancashire coffin was more exciting to build,  \n370 COFFIN CHAPTER 21 371  \nGlue up. If using dimensional wood, you’ll need to glue up at least two boards to create the bottom, sides and lid. My coffin was less than 23\"wide –just enough to squeeze by with two 1x12s.  \nit was tricky to make the bend with kiln-dried wood. We had to soak the parts for a long time – and get a team of people to manage the fire and the bend. Even then, it was touch-and-go. One of the coffin’s sides split badly during the bend on our first attempt. (Our second attempt went much better.)  \nJust like with making chairs, green wood or air-dried wood is better for bending. Because getting wide planks of green or air-dried pine is difficult in the city, I recommend you try the Southern Counties coffin. It is easy to make with home-center wood and with minimal assistance.  \n Lay Out the Bottom   \nHistorically, shops that made coffins would keep a series of templates  \nfor the different sizes, from infant all the way up to a full-grown  \nBigger at the top. The top and bottom of the coffin toe out about 6°. Cut this bevel on the ends by eye with a handsaw. Plane the ends smooth.  \nadult. Unless you are going into the coffin-making business, you can skip the template and use your height and some standard measurements.  \nTake your heigh","cbCaivnH4TphmDgE","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivnH4TphmDgE","pdf",6665919,"English","# COFFIN Chapter 21\n## Legal permission and the “Funeral Rule”\n## Planning and laying out the bottom\n## Shaping the bottom board\n## Building notes and methods","[{\"question\":\"Is it legal to provide your own coffin instead of using a funeral home’s casket?\",\"answer\":\"Yes. The chapter cites the Federal Trade Commission’s “Funeral Rule,” which states the funeral provider cannot refuse to handle a casket or urn you bought elsewhere and cannot charge extra fees for doing so.\"},{\"question\":\"Does the chapter suggest skipping embalming?\",\"answer\":\"Yes. It states that no state law requires routine embalming for every death, noting some states may require embalming or refrigeration only under certain timing or handling conditions.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the chapter recommend laying out the coffin bottom board?\",\"answer\":\"It instructs adding roughly 2 inches to the builder’s height for the bottom board length, measuring width at the shoulders and adding 1 inch for the breast width, then drawing a centerline and marking head, maximum width (18 inches down), and foot widths before connecting the layout points.\"}]","COFFIN Chapter 21 | PDF",14]