The Steel Guitar Forum

I was just thinking about how steel tone bars are made?
Where does the steel come from? Do you use a lathe for the end or a grinder? What about the bit of plastic on the butt end with the logo on it, how do those get set?
Just curious.

Well, since no one else has volunteered, I'll make some educated guesses:

The steel bar (long lengths of it) comes from a metal supplier.

I'd guess most all bars are both made and polished on a lathe.

The ends are likely rounded on a lathe, too, as grinders really make a lot of dust and mess.

The plastic end-plugs are a press-in fit, and could be done with an arbor press or even a plastic mallet.

Lastly, some of them are chrome plated. (Manufacturers sub out this operation due to the involved processes and hazardous materials used.)

The bars are probably polished in a Centerless Grinder. It’s what we used in a machine shop I worked in yrs. ago. We built bomb lifts for the military and certain pins had to be sized to the thousandth of an inch.

It must have been the early 70's when Russ "H.V." Russell was working part time for ZB in Phoenix as a machinist when he had me watch him make my bar on a lathe from a piece of round stainless stock. He turned it down to the size that felt good then polished it all on the lathe. After the end was curved down as for as possible on the lathe he cut it leaving a small flat spot on the end that was then polished and stamped ZB. And just before the final polish he hollowed it out till I liked the weight. Then I believe he just gave it to me! Since then it's the only bar I've ever used.

Jerry Korkki wrote:It must have been the early 70's when Russ "H.V." Russell was working part time for ZB in Phoenix as a machinist when he had me watch him make my bar on a lathe from a piece of round stainless stock. He turned it down to the size that felt good then polished it all on the lathe. After the end was curved down as for as possible on the lathe he cut it leaving a small flat spot on the end that was then polished and stamped ZB. And just before the final polish he hollowed it out till I liked the weight. Then I believe he just gave it to me! Since then it's the only bar I've ever used.

that is a great story... I would do the same thing as you, and use it to play music in a memory of one good man...

Thanks Damir, I don't mean to get off topic but Russ was a great guy. Before he left AZ he lived a few blocks from my folks so when I'd visit I would sometimes bring the SD10 Rus-ler I had at the time and have him add knee levers, rewind a PU and overall tweak my guitar at his shop in his garage. Never charged me enough for his time. That guitar fit me like a glove, I still kick myself for selling it.

They are made "by Jim Burden, Bullet Bars".

Jim makes a good bar ! Had mine for
Several years and love it