It is the next day, and the wood has dried overnight. It really isn't necessary to dry the wood overnight, but it was late when I finished it yesterday, so I just let it sit. Now I need to sand the wood again and then wet it down.
You can see that the wood has lightened up again. It no longer looks the color of finished wood. What you can't see in the photograph is that the surface of the wood is rough. When I ran my fingers down the finger board, it felt fuzzy. The little fibers that had been cut off during planing/sanding are now standing up because of the swelling of the wood caused by the water.
The Surface of the Wood is Rough
I sanded the whole banjo again, and that removed more of the loose fibers.
Sanding the Finger Board Again
Once I had sanded all of the wood, I applied the water again to do it all over again.
Use Lots of Water to Swell the Fibers
I also decided to stain the inside of the hoop so that it won't look odd when I play this as an open back banjo. So I sanded that as well.
Sanding the Inside of the Hoop
I left it to dry, and I will sand and water again later. Each time I do this, the effect of the water on the wood will be less.
UPDATE
Later in the day.
Sanding
Sanding the Wood Again
Wetting
Wetting
