Every bass guitar builder needs a rasp

In a few articles from our how to build a bass guitar series, you’ve seen this thing in use. This is called a rasp. Generally speaking, there are two versions of this available, coarse and fine. Which should you get? Preferably both.

What makes a rasp so useful?

There are three main reasons why this rasp is necessary to have.

1. It is the tool in between rough shaping and fine shaping

This is not a saw nor is it sandpaper. The rasp sits neatly between rough and fine when you need to shape wood where you want to take away some material but not too much nor too little.

2. It can get places where other tools cannot.

This rasp is somewhat round and has a pointed tip. When shaping tightly curved areas, such as the inside horn curve of a cutaway body shape, this is where the rasp comes in very useful. Not only can the tool get into those places easily, but it also allows you superior control compared to using a machine.

3. Using this style of rasp is “how they used to make ’em”

This style of rasp was (and still is) used to craft instruments before the advent of modern machinery. Arguably, using this tool to shape with gives your instrument a more “humanized” look and feel to it. If you really like the old world way of wood shaping, you will really like this rasp.

What types of rasps are there?

Small and large size in both coarse and fine versions, and there is also the double radius version where you get two rounded sides instead of just one round side and a flat plane on the other.

What rasp should you get?

The rasp pictured above is the one you would fine most useful, that being the double radius with coarse grain version. Out of all the rasps available, this is the one to get first. You can optionally get the fine grain version later on if you feel you need it.

Note that the double radius version in either coarse or fine grain does not share the same radius on both sides. One side is slightly flatter than the other; this is totally normal for this particular tool.