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Cremation Urns Made from Bronze

by Meierjohan-Wengler

There are several types of bronze used for manufacturing cremation urns; cast bronze and sheet bronze cremation urns are both profiled here.

Cast Bronze

Bronze is a semi-precious metal used to produce high-quality cremation urns. Meierjohan-Wengler offers three types of bronze urns: scattering urns (Meierjohan-Wengler introduced the first bronze cremation urn designed specifically for scattering) sculptured bronze urns canneto urns--four pieces of unique works of art numbered and signed by the artist.

Urns that contain a great deal of pattern or detail are produced in Meierjohan-Wengler's bronze sand foundry. The type of bronze used is called Navy M. It contains roughly 87.5% copper, 6% tin, and trace amounts of lead and zinc.

In its solid form, it is referred to as bronze "ingot." The ingot is reduced to liquid in a natural gas furnace at temperatures from 2300-2500° F. The molten bronze is then poured into sand molds and allowed to cool.

After the mold is broken open, the cast pieces are removed and sandblasted for a smooth finish. Some of the pieces are painted and highlighted before receiving several coats of clear lacquer. The entire process is extremely labor intensive; therefore cast products are more expensive than fabricated or spun.

Sheet Bronze

Meierjohan-Wengler's sheet bronze is measured in ounces. This is determined by the weight of a 12" x 12" square sheet. The lightest sheet bronze urn is 50 ounce bronze. Heavier weights go up to 183 ounce bronze. The sheet bronze they use is 90% copper, which is a higher content than that which is used to make the cast products. Sheet bronze is sheared, bent, and welded to create the final product. Sheet bronze is available only with a satin finish, which makes these urns easy to engrave.

Fabricated sheet bronze urns are very high quality and their method of manufacturing is extremely cost effective.