Carving the mandolin back

I am having a little more trouble getting a nice shape on my back plate, there are several reasons. 1) The plate started out so thick.2) Maple is much harder wood than spruce.3) Unlike the top, the back isn't cut to it's final dimensions, there's about 1/2" around the outside that will have to be trimmed. So I had to place the top/sides where I think it should go, and trace the shape onto the back so I knew where to start the recurve.Still, I'm getting there... the shape is getting more to my liking, and I'm getting closer to the proper thickness. Here's a progress pic.