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This is the coffin shape I decided
on after much thought. The box of
the casket itself is assembled by
attaching 3/4" x 3/4" trim on both
ends of the front and back pieces
of plywood. Once the trim has been
woodpatched and belt sanded flush
to the plywood, we will glue and
nail the front and back pieces to
the side pieces in a butt joint.
After gluing and nailing the box
together, woodpatch these joints
and well and belt sand smooth. Slide
the floor up under the bottom of
your box to 4 1/4" clearance and
nail it in. Note; since you will be
able to see the top edge of the box
where the lid opens, you will want
to band them with wood tape. You
can use a standard clothes iron to
iron it on, or you can cut your box
pieces 1/4" narrower and nailing on
a 1/4" trim piece, woodpatch the
joint and belt sand flush to the
plywood before nailing your box
together.
 The
next thing we will do is put on the
kick plates. The kick plates must
be mitered due to the dado for the
brass beading. Also be sure to 1/2"
round the top edges of all your
kick plates and finish sand them
before attaching to your box. The
1/2" round router bit guide bearing
extends further than 3/4" so you
cannot round this edge after
attachment. Dado the 4 1/4" kick
plates. I placed mine at 7/8" below
the top edge. Just like the lid
trim dado, it will be 1/2" wide and
3/8" deep. The first layer of kick
plates will cover 4 3/4" of the box
which means there will be a 1/2"
reveal down to the next kickplate.
This is a look at the details of
the two pieces that make up the top
lid which we will cut into two
sections after it is fully
constructed so that the wood grain
follows from one section to the
next perfectly. The lower section
of lid is permanently attached to
the coffin box, where the upper
section of lid will hinge back
exposing our pop up. This is a
little unusual that the lift lid is
so wide, but it allows full view of
the torso and hands and clearance
for him to sit up without running
into the lower lid. The trim on the
lid is 2 1/4" and is dadoed for a
3/8" wide brass trim rail to be
inlayed. The SUB LID is 5
pieces of plywood that is face
frame screwed together to make a
framework. You can also just use a
single piece of plywood for this
level instead of this multi
piece construction, as you must be
able to attach these perfectly
flush to one another since you
cannot belt sand them flush later.
You will be attaching the 3/4" x 2
1/4" trim edging to the SUB LID.
Be sure to stop your trim that you
will be applying to the SUB LID 48
1/2" away from the back end shown
to the right here. Your hinge
mechanism will not allow you to
have any trim behind the section
that will be lifting up. You don't
have to worry about this trim
missing, as your coffin will only
be seen with the lid in the upright
position, hiding the back edge
anyway.
The TOP OF LID is a full piece of
plywood that will be trimmed as
shown with 3/4" x 3/4" edge to
cover the veneer core and give you
a solid edge to round. Woodpatch
and belt sand the top and bottom
edges of your trim pieces flush
with the veneer. Once you have your
trim on both levels, 1/2" round
route the top edge of both. You
will want to round the corners of
the trim on the SUB LID and then
round the bottom edge of the same.
It will be up to you whether you
even put an edge on the TOP OF LID
section or not. If you plan to
paint your coffin and not finish it
like fine furniture, then you
really don't need to trim this
piece. Once you have trimmed both
of your levels you will need to
dado a 1/2" wide 3/8" deep groove
in the center of your 2 1/4" trim
for your brass bead. You are ready
to finish sand both of your tops at
this time with 100 grit sandpaper.
We use 1/2 sheet Porter Cable
sanders to achieve a nice finished
raw product. Now you can glue and
nail the TOP OF LID to the SUB LID.
Be sure it is on center and allow
this to dry completely before
moving to the next step. Now you
will need to cut your lid in half.
A table saw with a large fence and
table is important for this step.
Set your saw at 48 1/2 and this
will put your cut to center the 7"
stile you placed in the middle of
the SUB LID. Once cut into two
pieces you can now attach the lower
section directly to the coffin, as
you will not be needing to get at
that area anyway.
The cross that will be attached to
the lower section of your lid is
shown here in this schematic. The
center piece (stile) goes through
while the sides are attached to it
from underneath by pocket boring
and face frame screws. The top
edges of this will be 1/2"
rounded. Once you have completed
and attached the cross, you are
ready to stain the entire coffin
the color you desire. I used a very
light walnut stain. After the stain
dries apply a coat of clear wood
sanding sealer and once dry, sand
with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth.
Then apply one to 3 coats of clear
lacquer according to how nicely
finished you desire.
Once your coffin is lacquered you
will need to attach your brass
beading in the dadoes of the
kick plate and trim as shown. This
is self-adhesive backed trim, so it
is easy to apply. You can purchase
the trim at Outwater Plastics at
800-631-8375. The item number for
the bead is #1821. You will
need to cut your piano hinge down
to around 46" in length and attach
your lift lid. I used three center
mount spring loaded lift lid
supports made by Brainerd, item
#1088XC to keep the lid from coming
down when I didn't want it to. The
photo above is immediately after
finish before the animatronic was
fitted. That's next.
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