Black Bear Chest

I had made smaller chests recently, so when i was asked to make a larger one i felt a new challenge calling to me to learn more of how much i was capable of.
It was to be a birthday gift for a fellow who hunts at any free moment he has, so i thought a bear suitable decoration. Stained with red oak and 3-4 coats of polyurethane. i took oak tree branches and sticks to act as trees for the bear carving and a good sized branch as a handle.. i airbrushed the bear black and sealed it with poly. Its about 2 feet wide and 2 feet tall and ~18 inches deep and weighed more than i expected. I wish I had taken more pictures of progress, but i hadn’t thought i would be posting them anywhere.

I’m told that it was an excited hunter when he seen the chest. I’m happy yet sad because i discovered it would be used to store old hides and extra ammo. haha

hoping that i get to make more of these, but i haven’t gotten past mitered joints and minor rabbet joints for this kind of thing yet. dovetails and finger joints are a bit intimidating on these larger items for my skill level. i did however get some requests for just the framed nature scene to hang on a wall ^_^