The Funeral Rule allows you to provide the funeral home with a casket or urn you purchase or obtain elsewhere. It states that the funeral provider cannot refuse to handle a casket or urn you provide or charge you a fee to use it. They also cannot require you to be there when the casket or urn is delivered to them.
Coffin, urn and shroud Makers in Maine:
Kenneth Copp, in Thorndike, makes traditional Amish coffins. 207.948.9663 locustgrovewoodworks@gmail.com
Lew McGregor Down to Earth Classic Wooden Coffins in Stockton Springs. (207) 542-8668
Angus McFarland is a carpenter and woodworker in Alfred, 207-332-9268 angus.mcfarland@gmail.com
Chuck Lakin, in Waterville, makes the coffins shown on this website. (207) 213-0390 crlakin@colby.edu
Miek's Clayworks, in Skowhegan, produces elegant, simple pottery urns.
Nancy Rosalie, in Thorndike, makes unique shrouds from recycled materials using a treadle sewing machine. (207) 568-7597
Compostable coffin
Any funeral home or crematory can sell you what they call their “composition material alternative container,” basically a stiffened cardboard box. They are used primarily for cremations, but can be used for burials. Their cardboard tops invite decoration. Expect to pay between $25- $100 for the container. Here’s a list of Crematories in Maine.
homemade COFFIN PLANS
Click on the images below to download plans for building your own coffin.
coffin building resourses
Learn How to Build a Handmade Casket is a 2003 article from Mother Earth News about building coffins. It shows several options and while it might be short on detail it is very encouraging.
And here’s another version of the toe-pincher coffin from the Northwoods Casket Company.