The Steel Guitar Forum

I have a large heavy bullet nose bar, that I want to drill out. How do I clamp it safely without scratching the polished finish? I have a nice drill press...
Dom

a gazillion years ago when I learned about that kind of stuff we were taught to use aluminium jaws on the vise.

Times might have moved on though...

That's the right set-up to use, Ulrich. The jaws are bored out to exactly the same diameter as the bar. Unfortunately, it's much easier to bore out the bar while it's being made on the lathe. A new bar might be easier to obtain.

Use a small 6x6" sheet of thin rubber.....you should be able to buy that at a decent hardware store. The bar will not move in the vise with the rubber wrapped around the bar.

I have already had some success with soft material in the vise. Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I was on the right track.
Dom

You can buy one of those round rubber jar opener things at a grocery store,that'll hold it .

You will probably need a special drill bit. I doubt that standard drill bits will bore into the hard material that Jim Burden uses.

You can buy those 6x6 rubber pieces at Lowes in the plumbing parts section

DOM,

I would recommend drilling your tone bar on a lathe.


Roger

I already started drilling out the bar, stepping up in size slowly. The material is not super hard, and the bits are holding up well.

Now I must decide how much material to remove... I have two of the exact bars so I can compare how they feel as I play.

I am hoping the lighter weight will allow faster and smoother bar movement, while being less less demanding on my wrist.

Dom

Dom,,,many years ago Jim made me a hollow bar that I filled with BBs to get the exact weight that I wanted,,,,it was my go to bar until I got my zirc bar.

Dom
I have several of Jim's Bullet bars all bored out.
My 7/8" bar is bored out to 3/8" which gives me a 7 oz. bar which is about right for me.
Don

Since I have two identical bars, I thought I'd risk drilling one out myself.

After removing the plastic cap in the back I found it already had a hollow center.







I removed some material with a slightly larger bit and weighed the bar again...




With less than 1 ounce removed, there is a noticeable difference in how it feels to play!

I am going to remove a little more and live with it for awhile. It is the perfect length for my 12 string lap steels.

Dom

I understand the BJS, John Hughey bar is drilled out.
The 15/16" bar weighs the same as a 7/8" bar.

i don't get the lighter/faster concept. i use a 1 inch solid dekley bar that just turned up one day. it became my go to bar because it has a more substantial feel, the tone is always consistent even between my different steels and my original bars....even my old favorite 7/8 emmons bar feels wimpy and light and weak of tone.
the reason to have a big bar is partly for the density and the tone it produces. if that much added weight slows down your picking you should go to the gym and work out.

I use three bars: BJS solid, Dunlop hollow, and a zirconium. The Dunlop has the most mellow tone and is great for getting a thick fat tone. I drilled out another old solid bar that I had lying around and that made it more mellow too. The BJS has the most sustain and the zirc has the clearest notes above the 12th fret. The tone change when going to the Dunlop is not something you have to be looking for, it's HUGE!

Chris, this is a big bar 11 ounces is a lot different than a 7 ounce bar, but I need the extra length when I play 12 strings. I use smaller bars on fewer strings. And if you do hammer-on's and dobro style licks, it helps to have the right weight.
Dom

Drill press is the wrong tool. You need a lathe. A job like this would take 15 minutes.

Maybe my comment wasn't brilliant, though. I know it can be a real pain getting machining done.

Take a block of wood and drill a hole in it the same diameter and length as your bar. Then split the block in half lengthwise on a band saw. Use the two halves to clamp the bar in a drill press vise and drill away.

I am not having a problem drilling, I just don't want to remove too much and have it be too light.
I use the heavy one on pedal steel, because I don't lift the bar, but I want a lighter one for the lap steel because I use hammer-on's.

I ended up removing 2 ounces by stepping up to a 15/32" bit.

I played my steel today with it and the un-drilled bar side by side, alternating between them. I really like the slightly lighter weight. It will be my go-to bar, and I will live with it for a while.




I am going to buy another new one and drill it out even larger... I could always fill it back in with something to add weight.

Dom

Dom I have a 1 inch bar that I had my brother in law drill out for me on a lath where he worked.The bar is a 1 inch thick and it is 3 3/4 inches long and he drilled it and the walls are about 1/4 inch thick and he drilled it 3 inches deep. It feels comfortable and I filled it with hot glue from a glue gun.I used it on my pedal Steel I had and I have been trying it on my 8 String Dynalap Lap Steel and I like it.I also have a 5/8 Emmons bar and did the same thing to it and I like it also.I also have a Dobro Bar with the curved nose and I have used it also but I like the Emmons bar that is ligher and feels good .
Sam White

Dom - if you go too far you can add weight again by tamping in lead fishing weights, I believe. There was some talk a while back about making super heavy bars that way.

Several years ago I made a bunch of bars - several I drilled out - I just took my time and drilled slow - you simply cannot get in a hurry.

When I took them to the first steel guitar show the drilled ones sold out first. Once I sold all of those I was our of that business.

Between the polishing the outside and drilling the inside I decided you just had to have lots of time on your hands to be in that business. I did not use a lathe either.

Joe Naylor
www.steeleseat.com