The Steel Guitar Forum

Here is a picture of piece of 3“ x 3/4” Tungsen Carbide bar that I came across and I am experimenting with.

It weighs 11.2 ounces and has a slight chamfer on one end. My same size chrome plated brass bar is only 6.1 ounces.

Almost no pressure is needed with the left hand and that’s important since I had my left index finger amputated.

This tungsen bar is highly polished and slick on the strings and effortless to use. I Think I hear a better tone/sustain etc when using it.

One problem! Sometimes it catches On the strings when moving towards me an away from me. It only has a slight chamfer on one end and really needs to Be slightly rounded on both ends. How do I do that. One machine shop said it would be a $500 job! What think ye my fellow Steelers?

Drill a 1/4" hole in the rear end, Tap it with 1/4 X 20 threads. Put in a bolt with the head cut off and chuck it up in a drill press.
Now start with a coarse file.... round it off roughly and work down to fine files and then abrasive sheets and finally steel wool.

A lathe would be better if you have access to one...

If it really is tungsten carbide then it will be very hard to drill a hole in it, or put it in a lathe or anything like that. I think you may need diamond sanding/polishing wheels to shape it.

Willy.

William is correct in that grinding is the necessary procedure, and I can't believe that it would not be way too heavy and would have a tendency to detune the strings as it moves up the neck. I bet it does feel slick and have a good tone, though!

Thank you all for responding. William I believe you are correct re the diamond wheel.
Doug it weighs a little more than a Bjs 1” x 3 3/4” Bar. This one is only 3” x3/4”
It is heavy but very small.

Being tungsten it should be very hard, It may be to hard to drill, Tap or do any machine work on even with a Carbide tool bit. I would suggest using a center finder V on a combination square. Mark the center of the flat end. Take a center punch and attempt to put a center mark in it. If the center punch dimples the metal you may be able to drill and tap it. If not you may have to use coppers strips and chuck it in a lathe and use a tool post grinder to round the ends.
That may be why the machine shop wanted so much to work on it.
Tungsten Carbide is what some of the best hardest tool bits are made of.
Good Luck in finding a way to contour it to fit your needs.

Thank you Bobby. The machine shop said it wouldn’t take long to do but setting up the edm machine would take a lot of time just for 1 bar.

Because the bar seems to have a bluish tinge, it is more likely to be tungsten carbide than pure tungsten (which is not nearly as hard, and somewhat lighter). Rather than fiddle around (perhaps expensively and unsuccessfully) with the bar you have, you might be better off to just try a larger and longer "standard" bar to get the increased weight you seem to want. I'd recommend you starting with a 7/8" or 15/16" twelve string bar, and see if you can make that work. If it isn't suitable, you can always sell it and try something else.