Hi All, I'm preparing to glue the bass neck to the body and it seems like the neck wood is softer than the ash body,

Also, it's a composite glue job - three pieces of wood glued together to form the head, neck and base that will ultimately mate with the body.

As well, to get the neck flat for fret leveling, I had to completely loosen the tie rod.

Gluing in the neck permanently is a pretty big commitment to the project:

1) based on the above, should I have any concerns?
2) is using a base plate with screws an option, given how thin the neck cradle bottom is?

Thank you, b