Abstract: A metal casket that is readily assembled at a location remote from the location of manufacture. The casket has several different potential embodiments. For example, first and second tabs on respective first and second side walls are overlapped to form a joint connecting the first and second walls. In another embodiment, a plurality of side walls has peripheral slots extending from lower sections of respective walls. A bottom has a periphery extending into the peripheral slots of the side walls to join the bottom and the side walls together. In a further embodiment, a portion of a plurality of side walls have an upward opening groove for receiving a decorative material. In a still further embodiment a casket cover includes a cap providing an exterior finish of the casket and a dish disposed within the cap to provide an interior finish for the cover of the casket. The cover further has a frame with a first slot for receiving an edge of the cap and a second slot for receiving an edge of the dish.

Abstract: An improved wedge bar locking mechanism for a burial casket requires only a bracket, a screw and a clip which cooperate with one end of a wedge bar to cause longitudinal movement of the wedge bar in two directions for locking end unlocking the lid of a casket to the body of the casket. The components of the mechanism are located in the body of the casket, adjacent an end wall. The bracket mounts rigidly to the body. The screw threads directly to the wedge bar, and the bracket and clip hold opposite ends of the screw to prevent axial and radial movement thereof so that rotational movement of the screw is converted to longitudinal movement of the wedge bar. The screw is accessible for rotation via a keyway in the end wall. A center wall of the bracket engages the end of the wedge bar to prevent rotational movement thereof when the screw is rotated. The bracket also includes integral tabs which serve as over-travel stops for both the locked and unlocked positions of the wedge bar.