The Rick Bass Project, Part 2: The Boat Anchor

Here is the first part of the Rick Bass blog post:

http://angjellockheart.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-rick-bass-project-part-1.html

So things haven't gone so well on the Rick Bass project.  Not only was I unhappy with the wood the body was made out of, something on the body kept the stain from really soaking in.  The C.A. glue wouldn't even let any stain go over it.  Then, when I put the Odie's Oil over the body, the Odie's Oil wouldn't stick to any of it.

So I just decided to make my own bass body.  This way, I could decide what wood I wanted to use, and make it my way.  First off, I had to be reminded of some rosewood that I had hidden.  I had used this piece on an earlier project.  So yes, it's that big of a piece of rosewood.

I'll skip a lot of the steps since they are somewhat redundant.  Basically I took the piece of wood, cut it, and glued the outside edges together.  The outside has the sapwood which is white colored.  When I glued the edges together it made a lightning streak down the middle.  Here's the photo of it so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Here's a picture of the wood wetted down so I could have a better idea what it would look like when it would have finish on it.

Here's the back.

Here's where I traced out the old body on the rosewood.

And once I took the wood to the band-saw this is what I came out with.

Not too shabby, huh?  Again, please note that this took some time and very careful cutting on the band-saw.

Here's another photo of the wood wetted down.  It really makes the color pop.

Next I used a spindle sander to smooth out the sides of the body.

I have to say, that's some of my best work.  I do have to give credit to using really high quality sandpaper on the spindle sander.

Next came the hard part.  I had to mark out the lines where the routs would go.  Again, I'm making this short, but I really had to take my time on this.

Here's where I have laid out the lines for the neck pocket and control cavity rout.  I also used a forester bit to cut away some of the wood for the control cavity.  Doing that will make it easier for me to work the router.

And the question, "Does it weight a lot?"  Oh yes.  It can double as a boat anchor.  It's insanely heavy.  But I have a feeling that it will have tone for days.  It will as long as I can stand it hanging on my shoulder.