Beginning Weight Reduction

I'm a big believer in weight reducing bodies. I also believe a weight reduced body is very different than a chambered body.
My tool of choice... a 1" Forstner bit and a good drill press. The 1" hole is small enough that I can use a 0.10" thick top and it will be plenty stiff. I always leave the center block solid for the mounting of the pickups, bridge, tailpiece, etc...

Carving Belly Contour

Belly Contour being carved with rasp.
(btw, I've had this rasp for about 15 years and have carved many, many, contours and necks with it. It's an amazing tool that is as sharp as the day I bought it.)

Carving Arm Contour

I'm going to be adding a heavier arm contour to the top than a traditional Firebird would have (as well as a tummy contour on the back). We have also decided to make the body full depth as opposed to the typical thin Firebird body; this body is big and these contours will help it feel less bulky. I'm using a rasp and doing the contours by hand. There is fixturing that can be made to do this quicker, but again, this is a one-off build and I'll be doing most of this type of work by hand. Mahogany carves rather easily with a good rasp and it actually doesn't take that much time.

Body Rough Cut

Here the body is rough cut. An approximate center line is drawn.

Body Template Layout

Since this is a one-off build I won't be making many hard templates for reuse. Here my newsprint body outline is placed on the blank to determine the outer perimeter.

Body Blank Prepared

For the body I've decided to use a piece of White Mahogany (Primavera) that I've had for awhile. It's large enough for a one piece body and is similiar to the Korina that Gibson used on a lot of their guitars. I do plan on weight reducing the body and adding a 3-piece top. This picture shows the body blank surfaced.