An apparatus used during construction of a casket shell from casket shell elements, the apparatus comprising: a surface, a frame support for movement relative to the surface between a first position adjacent the surface and a second position away from the surface, a flexible membrane coupled to the frame and formed to include at least one aperture, a pump unit coupled to the at least one aperture and operable to evacuate air from between the membrane and the surface when the frame is in the first position, and a template supported by the surface and positioned to lie between the surface and the membrane, the template adapted to establish a proper position of the casket shell elements on the surface.