Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Digby was our family dog for twelve years. When he died I turned this urn for him, and the film follows the whole of it.
Sycamore body, domed newtonia lid, hollowed in two stages to a measured volume, coloured with the Intrinsic collection and polished back under satin lacquer.
It was a hard one to make and a harder one to film, but it turned out as I hoped.
How do you turn a wooden memorial urn for pet ashes?
The body starts as a 4-inch sycamore blank shaped with a half inch spindle gouge, with golden ratio calipers used to place the widest point as low on the form as possible. The piece is deliberately heavier and wider at the base so it sits stable on a mantelpiece. The hollowing was done in two stages: a Simon Hope Carbide Pro tool with a 6mm cutter for the upper section, then a Woodcut Pro Master Deep Hollowing tool to reach the bottom. An airbrush compressor cleared the shavings as I worked deeper, and a small inspection light from Wood Art Products let me check wall thickness once the cutting edge disappeared from view. The whole hollowing process took about an hour.
How do you calculate the right internal volume for a pet cremation urn?
I weighed Digby's ashes, then weighed out the same amount in sand and used that as a test while hollowing to make sure everything would fit. It is a simple calculation, but when you cannot afford to get it wrong it is the only sensible approach.
How do you use Intrinsic colours on a woodturning to get a layered, figured result?
The colouring took two sessions. I was not happy with the first attempt and sanded it off entirely before starting again. The second pass began with dark base colours (Forest Green, Plum, Midnight Blue, and Ruby), applied heavily and then sanded back to reveal the figure in the sycamore. Highlight colours (honey, sky blue, pear green, and flame) went on top and were blended by hand, dried with a hairdryer, and locked in with four or five coats of spray sanding sealer.
How do you get a glass-like finish on a lacquered woodturning?
Six coats of satin lacquer, sanded back where needed, then polished with True Grit Original and Ultra Fine followed by T-Cut Perfect Compound. I avoid colour restorers on the final pass. In my experience they leave fine scratches where a proper cutting compound does not.
The newtonia lid is domed and threads onto an egg ring so it seats flush with the body and the ring disappears completely inside the piece. A single coat of sanding sealer keeps the lid matte against the polished body.
It was a little bit emotional to make, if I am going to be absolutely honest. But it turned out exactly as I hoped.
0:00 Introduction
1:21 Designing the form
1:40 Cutting the tenon and drilling
3:34 Shaping the outside
4:20 Hollowing
5:50 Calculating the void space
7:05 Finishing the outside shape
7:48 Sanding
8:07 Colouring
10:09 Sealing and lacquering
11:34 Polishing
12:44 Parting off
13:02 Turning the lid
14:10 The finished piece
Wood: Sycamore (body), Newtonia (lid)
Colour: Forest Green, Plum, Midnight Blue, Ruby, Honey, Sky Blue, Pear Green, Flame (Intrinsic Color Collection)
Finish: Spray sanding sealer, satin lacquer, True Grit Original and Ultra Fine, T-Cut Perfect Compound
Tools and materials used in this film:
🔗 Dalmann Timber: shop.dalmannuk.com
🔗 Les Thorne tools: noturningback.co.uk/shop
🔗 Simon Hope Carbide Pro Tool: hopewoodturning.co.uk/product/hope-carbide-pro-hollowing-tool
🔗 Woodcut Pro Master Deep Hollowing Tool: yandles.co.uk/woodturning-tools/woodcut-tools-pro-forme-hollowing-kits
🔗 Axminster Piranha Jaws: axminstertools.com/piranha-114mm-gripper-jaws-502670
🔗 Intrinsic Colour collection: yandles.co.uk/woodstain-dyes/martin-saban-smith-intrinsic-colours125ml
🔗 True Grit polishing products: amzn.to/44DvYZS
🔗 T-Cut Perfect Compound: amzn.to/4psRjid
🔗 Wood Art Products lathe light: woodart-products.co.uk/3_Lights.php
🎓 Want to learn in person? I run woodturning courses at my school in Hampshire for all levels — from complete beginners through to more advanced techniques. Details at www.thewoodturning.school 🛢️ My Finishes: yandles.co.uk/shop/?manufacturer=martin-saban-smith-woodturning 📘 Design and proportion in woodturning — I wrote the book: msabansmith.com/shop 📍 Based at Garthowen Garden Centre, Four Marks, Hampshire — next to the South Downs National Park. 🌐 msabansmith.com Facebook — Me: facebook.com/msabansmith Facebook — Woodturning School: facebook.com/thewoodturningschool Instagram — Me: instagram.com/msabansmith Instagram — School: instagram.com/thewoodturningschool The visual video content (including my voice), any text and any graphics in the video are Copyright © Woodturning Online Ltd 2015–2026. All rights reserved.
Digby was our family dog for twelve years. When he died I turned this urn for him, and the film follows the whole of it.
Sycamore body, domed newtonia lid, hollowed in two stages to a measured volume, coloured with the Intrinsic collection and polished back under satin lacquer.
It was a hard one to make and a harder one to film, but it turned out as I hoped.
How do you turn a wooden memorial urn for pet ashes?
The body starts as a 4-inch sycamore blank shaped with a half inch spindle gouge, with golden ratio calipers used to place the widest point as low on the form as possible. The piece is deliberately heavier and wider at the base so it sits stable on a mantelpiece. The hollowing was done in two stages: a Simon Hope Carbide Pro tool with a 6mm cutter for the upper section, then a Woodcut Pro Master Deep Hollowing tool to reach the bottom. An airbrush compressor cleared the shavings as I worked deeper, and a small inspection light from Wood Art Products let me check wall thickness once the cutting edge disappeared from view. The whole hollowing process took about an hour.
How do you calculate the right internal volume for a pet cremation urn?
I weighed Digby's ashes, then weighed out the same amount in sand and used that as a test while hollowing to make sure everything would fit. It is a simple calculation, but when you cannot afford to get it wrong it is the only sensible approach.
How do you use Intrinsic colours on a woodturning to get a layered, figured result?
The colouring took two sessions. I was not happy with the first attempt and sanded it off entirely before starting again. The second pass began with dark base colours (Forest Green, Plum, Midnight Blue, and Ruby), applied heavily and then sanded back to reveal the figure in the sycamore. Highlight colours (honey, sky blue, pear green, and flame) went on top and were blended by hand, dried with a hairdryer, and locked in with four or five coats of spray sanding sealer.
How do you get a glass-like finish on a lacquered woodturning?
Six coats of satin lacquer, sanded back where needed, then polished with True Grit Original and Ultra Fine followed by T-Cut Perfect Compound. I avoid colour restorers on the final pass. In my experience they leave fine scratches where a proper cutting compound does not.
The newtonia lid is domed and threads onto an egg ring so it seats flush with the body and the ring disappears completely inside the piece. A single coat of sanding sealer keeps the lid matte against the polished body.
It was a little bit emotional to make, if I am going to be absolutely honest. But it turned out exactly as I hoped.
0:00 Introduction
1:21 Designing the form
1:40 Cutting the tenon and drilling
3:34 Shaping the outside
4:20 Hollowing
5:50 Calculating the void space
7:05 Finishing the outside shape
7:48 Sanding
8:07 Colouring
10:09 Sealing and lacquering
11:34 Polishing
12:44 Parting off
13:02 Turning the lid
14:10 The finished piece
Wood: Sycamore (body), Newtonia (lid)
Colour: Forest Green, Plum, Midnight Blue, Ruby, Honey, Sky Blue, Pear Green, Flame (Intrinsic Color Collection)
Finish: Spray sanding sealer, satin lacquer, True Grit Original and Ultra Fine, T-Cut Perfect Compound
Tools and materials used in this film:
🔗 Dalmann Timber: shop.dalmannuk.com
🔗 Les Thorne tools: noturningback.co.uk/shop
🔗 Simon Hope Carbide Pro Tool: hopewoodturning.co.uk/product/hope-carbide-pro-hollowing-tool
🔗 Woodcut Pro Master Deep Hollowing Tool: yandles.co.uk/woodturning-tools/woodcut-tools-pro-forme-hollowing-kits
🔗 Axminster Piranha Jaws: axminstertools.com/piranha-114mm-gripper-jaws-502670
🔗 Intrinsic Colour collection: yandles.co.uk/woodstain-dyes/martin-saban-smith-intrinsic-colours125ml
🔗 True Grit polishing products: amzn.to/44DvYZS
🔗 T-Cut Perfect Compound: amzn.to/4psRjid
🔗 Wood Art Products lathe light: woodart-products.co.uk/3_Lights.php
🎓 Want to learn in person? I run woodturning courses at my school in Hampshire for all levels — from complete beginners through to more advanced techniques. Details at www.thewoodturning.school 🛢️ My Finishes: yandles.co.uk/shop/?manufacturer=martin-saban-smith-woodturning 📘 Design and proportion in woodturning — I wrote the book: msabansmith.com/shop 📍 Based at Garthowen Garden Centre, Four Marks, Hampshire — next to the South Downs National Park. 🌐 msabansmith.com Facebook — Me: facebook.com/msabansmith Facebook — Woodturning School: facebook.com/thewoodturningschool Instagram — Me: instagram.com/msabansmith Instagram — School: instagram.com/thewoodturningschool The visual video content (including my voice), any text and any graphics in the video are Copyright © Woodturning Online Ltd 2015–2026. All rights reserved.
