Homage to Devastator: "Arachnophilia"

[Freekmagnet]

This bass is an amazing combination of elements I'd never imagined liking in a bass. I'm all in!

SUB'D

PS: Arachnophilia!? I would say, "Ew", but growing up, my stepdad was an entomologist. We always had a lot of live and dead specimens around the house.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Back at it!

Although... soon after I pulled the wing core pieces out of "mothballs"...
I realized something.... the color combination was basically the same as another bass I built for this same client.
So I changed my mind & used the first bubinga cores as patterns to route new cores from quilted maple.
Yes that's what I used on my last build...
....they looked amazing.
Plus.... maple will work better with the idea I have for the finish on this bass.

Those are 11/16" & with everything else I am stacking up... I should wind up right around 1 9/16" to 1 5/8" total thickness.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Ebony and more maple... but a nice tight curl on the accent stripe layer...for a little sparkle.
I glued them on 1 side at a time.... cut close on the scroll saw then flushed on the table router.

 

[Rôckhewer]

After cutting out excess neck material... this old Harbor Freight belt sander is invaluable!!

Makes the back of the neck perfectly flat.... even helps greatly with the front & back of the headstock!
Definitely one of those machines I would not want to build without.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Got the truss rod slot cut...
And installed a couple of "re-bar" just because this is an 8 string & better safe than....unsafe .
Probably would have been fine... but since both body cuts are going to be slightly below the 24th fret. And the rod only goes to about the 19th....

I do the TR-slot on a table router but I don't have a 1/16" straight bit with a 1/4" shank ... but I have one for my Dremel
...luckly the new Dremels come with an edge following jig attachment.... sorry no pic.

 

[Rôckhewer]

So I did a test run of the inlay I am going to cut into the 12th fret area of the birdseye fingerboard...

The design is not finished however....it needs more.
...more.... something. Probably going to do some sparse / tastfull webbing in abalone behind/ or north & south of it.
& probably sharpen the roundness of the body a bit... add more shell... etc...
This one is in redheart & ebony with a dash of abalone thrown in.

Yeah... needs more shell... more flair....?

I finally stopped a local rock shop yesterday... (which I pass by everyday but have avoided stopping at....
I love rocks...
Rock shops make me spend money.

But it was an amazing place & they had shell too, (why I broke down & rationalized stopping)

They were selling full abalone shells which they ground & polished the backs of ... for $28 !!
Way more material than you get buying "blanks" off eBay for the same money.
Since they are polished on the back...the thickness is nice.
I didn't have cash on me & they didn't take plastic. Which was probably a very good thing!
I'll go back with focus and intent ... limiting myself to just one shell...



And some MOP..


And...... I should only take about $40... or it could get ugly

 

[charlie monroe]

Yeah... needs more shell... more flair....?

Segmented or banded legs?

 

[Jon Clegg]

I do the TR-slot on a table router but I don't have a 1/16" straight bit with a 1/4" shank ... but I have one for my Dremel

I found one on amazon for doing the same thing for the graphite on my build: Amazon.com: uxcell 1/16-inch Cutting Dia HSSAL 4 Flutes Spiral Bit End Mill Cutter: Home Improvement

 

[pilotjones]

I'd say whether it needs more complexity depends on the scale, which is hard to tell from a close-cropped close-up. Can you get a pic of it next toa bass, for size and context?

Also, assuming this is a 12th fret inlay, is this to a fretted or fretless bass?

 

[Rôckhewer]

I'd say whether it needs more complexity depends on the scale, which is hard to tell from a close-cropped close-up. Can you get a pic of it next toa bass, for size and context?

Also, assuming this is a 12th fret inlay, is this to a fretted or fretless bass?

Some good points of consideration there.
So... here's a shot of it in position on the neck with a wing core sitting in place.
I figure the 12th would run right through the bottom of its butt... (whatever that is called on a spider).
Zoom in & you can see frets drawn in...

And now that I got my Abalone shell.... instead of more complexity of body.... I am thinking that some well placed texture and color patterns using this...
Might be all I need.

way better way to buy Abalone than paying through the nose for a few .5"x.75" chips...
In my opinion.

 

[tbrannon]

Love that abalone.

Only thing I'd do is make the spider abdomen (the last/butt segment) a little less round bottomed and try to reflect the body points and leg anatomy slightly. Or maybe add a minor version of the cutout 'omega' from the legs somewhere on the last 1/3rd of the tail end of the abdomen?

 

[Rôckhewer]

Love that abalone.

Only thing I'd do is make the spider abdomen (the last/butt segment) a little less round bottomed and try to reflect the body points and leg anatomy slightly.

That was my thought too.... thanks.

Yeah, I think I am going to really enjoy having the outside of the shell polished.
That way I can see what I'm working with.
I have an idea how to create physical patterns using laser cut acrylic, which I can see the shell pattern through....then glue on to the shell & cut out around with a jewellers saw.

I never realized that the outside was so much prettier than the inside!
The stuff I have seen in the past usually had the nasty barnacle type surface covering it.
I know I can't go much bigger than .75" and have it flattenable.... but at the same time, there is so much more here to chose from than what you get buying blanks on ebay.

 

[jhb138]

I also agree that the spider's abdomen isn't quite there yet.

As for positioning, might it look better with the thorax, or the joint between the thorax & abdomen, centered in the 12th fret?

 

[jhb138]

BTW, I just checked out your FB page. If I ever hit the lottery (or become a big ol' rawk star) you're definitely getting a call! I'm already imagining what my mythical Mythos would look like....

 

[Rôckhewer]

I also agree that the spider's abdomen isn't quite there yet.

As for positioning, might it look better with the thorax, or the joint between the thorax & abdomen, centered in the 12th fret?

I tried that first.... the 11th would chop his pincers tips off.

BTW, I just checked out your FB page. If I ever hit the lottery (or become a big ol' rawk star) you're definitely getting a call! I'm already imagining what my mythical Mythos would look like....

Thanks much... very kind of you!

Well then.....play them numbers...
Practice hard....
Eat your Wheaties....
Aaaaand.... take a cash advance on your credit card! .... then you can call me next week.!

everything else will fall into place!

....Eventually...
Ha-haaaa!

 

[Jon Clegg]

That inlay is insane. You keep cranking the artistry to 11.

 

[Reno2]

Some good points of consideration there.
So... here's a shot of it in position on the neck with a wing core sitting in place.
I figure the 12th would run right through the bottom of its butt... (whatever that is called on a spider).
Zoom in & you can see frets drawn in...
View attachment 1129986
And now that I got my Abalone shell.... instead of more complexity of body.... I am thinking that some well placed texture and color patterns using this...
Might be all I need.
View attachment 1129988
View attachment 1129990 way better way to buy Abalone than paying through the nose for a few .5"x.75" chips...
In my opinion.

How are you gonna use that abalone piece for an inlay?
I have a lot of those shells I found on the beach in Galicia... But still not sure about how to prepare it for inlays!

 

[Rôckhewer]

How are you gonna use that abalone piece for an inlay?
I have a lot of those shells I found on the beach in Galicia... But still not sure about how to prepare it for inlays!

You have ''a lot" of abalone shells? Really? How many you got?
Did you know they sell retail for between $20 to $30 each.... raw/ unpolished?

I'm sure there are a few different ways to prep a raw shell ... it would depend upon what equipment you have to remove the ugly, rough outer layer.
But once that is removed/ ground off...
You are left with useable abalone that's up to about 1/8" thick ... but concave/convex. Some areas slightly thicker, most of it is thinner.
So then you might want to cut it into blanks and flatten them. Where they are on the shell obviously determines how rounded they are, and subsequently how big a piece you can expect to get and still grind it flat....leaving a useable thickness of just under 1/16" - (1mm)
Then you can cut out your various shapes from patterns you make.....using a jewellers saw.

One method that works to prep would be to cut the shell up into blanks on a tile saw. Ya'know...diamond blade, wet saw. You can even cut it up prior to removing the rough outer layer. Then shave that stuff off with the same saw.

I'm sure you get the idea.... cause I feel like I'm being a bit redundant here... apologies.

ONE THING I GOTTA SAY... A WARNING

If you decide to cut, grind, sand, etc. DRY? and you make a BUNCH of DUST. IT IS A carcinogen & HIGHLY TOXIC. AND WILL CUT/ABRADE /BURN/POISON.. lung & sinus tissue.
ABSOLUTELY DO NOT BREATHE or get it in your Eyes... and if it settles anywhere on your skin it will give you a chemical type burn like a sunburn/fever for about 3 days!
Don't ask me how I know...
Hey,... at least I had on a full face respirator.
I'm not that careless...
You should even wear a mask doing the final jewellers saw cutouts.
Nasty stuff.

 

[Rôckhewer]

Hi folks
So, ....yeah...

Finally!....
Sheesh!

And yes....I am still going to cut fret slots ...up to the inner edge of the binding....
... not through

Wish me luck!

 

[pilotjones]

Hi folks
So, ....yeah...

Finally!....
Sheesh!
View attachment 1142319 View attachment 1142321 View attachment 1142322 View attachment 1142323 View attachment 1142324
And yes....I am still going to cut fret slots ...up to the inner edge of the binding....
... not through

Wish me luck!

Beautiful. Wow.

How do you propose to cut the blind slots? CNC? I did some by hand on my first bass and it was a major pain, and that was for frets that didn't have to be perfectly sized.