Hillman Powder Coated Tone Bars

[Michael Hillman]

POWDER COATED BARS IN A VARIETY OF COLORS AND SIZES - CURRENT PRICES AND ORDERING INFORMATION APPEARS
ON PAGE 27-END OF THIS THREAD -INVENTORY CHANGES QUICKLY
EMAIL ME FOR ANY QUESTIONS vmhillman66@gmail.com

[/b]We are pleased to offer a gloss red, gloss dark blue or gloss black powder coated bar in 7/8" x 3 3/8" size. The concept behind powder coating a perfectly good steel is that it seems to be a bit "faster", is easier to hold on to, produces less string noise, and dampens the treble just slightly. The Forum price for a standard bar is $49.95; which includes Priority shipping to U.S. Zip Codes. We will ship internationally, add $30.00 for International Priority, and for Canadian shipments, add $15.00 per bar. Depending on the hours of use, pressure exerted, and your string composition, these bars will show wear in time. However, the coating should not flake, chip or peel. The powder coating firm that we use does not anticipate any problem, as careful preparation and firing are the key to the strongest, most durable finish that it is possible to achieve. We offer the following warranty to the original purchaser: We will replace any bar that peels or chips, upon our post paid receipt of that bar. We will also provide a money back guarantee if you return the bar to us for any reason within one month of purchase-we are players who favor powder coated bars, and do not see them offered to the steel guitar community at present. In short, we want you to be satisfied with our product, indeed, with the entire transaction. Once we determine the demand, we will consider producing other sizes.

The red bars are more of a candy apple, darker red, and the dark blue bars are a darker blue than the photo shows.



PayPal is preferred, but we will accept a check or money order. The PayPal address is vmhillman66@gmail.com If you have any questions, please post here, send me a pm, or call me at (208)867-5062. Should you wish to pay by check or money order, email me for an address where you should mail - check the end of this thread for current sale pricing/special offers - Thanks!! Michael Hillman [/b]

[Jim Saunders]

What is the weight?

[Michael Hillman]

Good morning Jim, these bars weigh 8.2 ounces.

[Peter den Hartogh]

Can't wait for the 3 bars I ordered.

[Michael Hillman]

Hey, Peter - sent them international Priority this morning, hope customs moves them to you quickly, I will scan the form and email it to you, Michael

[Michael Hillman]

We will ship a bar to Canada for an additional $5.00, i.e. $64.95 USD, using First Class Parcel, should arrive in 7-10 days as long as the customs folks don't hold it up, thanks - Michael

[Michael Hillman]

For those who inquired, or if you were just wondering, we have plenty of each color - didn't mean to imply that we only had the 6 bars shown in the photos

[Loni Specter]

Those look fantastic! Good luck on your new enterprize.

[Michael Hillman]

And to you Loni, those Slipperyslides are fantastic!

[Terry Niendorf]

I wanted to provide a review of the powder coated bars sold by Mike Hillman. I have a black one and a red one. First impression is really how good they look. They have a high gloss finish and just have a nice feel in your hand. Having that high gloss I would have been concerned about the bar slipping out of your hand, but it seems to actually feel less likely to do that. I used it for a lengthy jam session and it just felt right from the very first. I liked the Red Rajah I had before, but I think I favor this bar mainly because of the gloss finish. They are the same size and I think the same weight (8.2 oz). The bar is precision milled of course, and the powder coating is with state of the art equipment. Also, Mike is the kind of person we would all like to deal with, on everything we buy.

[Michael Hillman]

Thanks for the kind words and an extensive review of our powder coated bars, so pleased that they are working well for you.

[Michael Hillman]

We will take your old Red Rajah or Black Phoenix bars on trade, or any powder coated bar- these will have a hole machined into the tail end of the bar to allow for sandblasting and powder coating. Send us $10 and your old bar, and let us know your color choice. Just send me a pm or an email referencing the transaction so we can expect the arrival of the old bar, and set aside a new bar of the appropriate color. Thanks, Michael

[Jim Waldrop]

Looks like a great product Michael!!

[Walter Glockler]

A black guitar and a black bar is probably the ultimate combination.

[Michael Hillman]

Thanks, Jim, these bars did exceed our expectations in appearance and performance...Walter, more than one comment has been made about matching a steel color to a really great instrument, and in both instances it was black.

[Dwight Lewis]

Can you do this process to any slide bar., like if I sent you my Shubb Pearse RR2 bar , could you apply this process?

Thanks
Dwight

[Michael Hillman]

Hello Dwight, the short answer is no, we can't powder coat any bar, because of cost constraints. The longer explanation is that the powder coating process requires that a hole be machined into the end of the bar opposite the rounded nose. You can see that in one of the photos in one of the red bars. The bar blanks are sandblasted, then sprayed with the powder coating and placed in an oven on a jig which holds them as the coating bakes and hardens. We worked with a local machinist who experimented with several types of steel rod stock, until he found what in his opinion was best to machine, sandblast and coat. The only way to make the project even close to affordable was to commit to one size and have a large number of blanks made up in that size, then the powder coater can do them in batches of 25. If you have a bar you want to powder coat, you might speak with a local machinist. The challenge is that machining and powder coating become affordable when bars can be done in larger numbers. For one bar, it could get expensive but it would be possible..... see if it could be drilled in order to hold it for processing, find a powder coater and select a gloss finish in a color you'd like. - Michael

[Dwight Lewis]

Thanks Michael

[Bob Knetzger]

How would these powder coated bars compare to the old Chuck Brittain "sticky in your hand--slippery on the strings" coated bars?

[Michael Hillman]

Hello, Bob, I believe that I bought a Red Rajah bar from Chuck, years ago, although I'd not heard the " sticky in your hand, slippery on the strings " description, I think that is very accurate for these bars, as pointed out in the review provided by Terry Niendorf. You are welcome to order one and give it a try, return it in 14 days for a full refund if it doesn't feel right to you. - Michael

[Michael Hillman]

A couple of Forum members have asked why I've not posted a mailing address. I'm doing some traveling off and on these next few weeks, and will keep a large supply of bars with me...it is easy to package one, and just take it to the closest post office. I also have someone as backup on the home front to receive a mailed payment, and they too have a supply of bars.

[John Limbach]

Michael:

Any chance you'll do lap steel size bars, e.g. 3/4 x 2 7/8 (+ or -)? Really like your bar but its way too big for a 22" scale 6-string!

[Michael Hillman]

Yes, John, it is very likely we will do a 3/4 x 2 7/8 bar, I've discussed this size with our machinist, I will let everyone know who has expressed interest in the smaller bar as we move closer to completion. Thanks !! - Michael

[Michael Hillman]

Let us know the extent of the interest in this smaller size bar for lap steel players, there were a couple of comments on our earlier new product announcement thread, and John's recent comment here....if we have the interest, we'll make this the next size, also we are interested in suggestions for colors other than the red, black and blue. Thanks! - Michael

[James Nottage]

I would be interested in the smaller bar. Hope you give it a try.