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Topic: Scratches on the Tone Bar |
Bill Brunt
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2014 6:16 am |
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I have a tone bar that I acquired with a used steel a while ago. The tone bar had some imperceptible scratches on it.
Imperceptible to the eye, that is, but not to the ear. Well really, you could see a couple of them that were more like tiny nicks.
When the scratches happened to bear against the strings, it sounded horrible, I mean like it was about to cut right through the strings.
I figured what the heck, I can't make it worse.
So I confiscated my wife's extra, extra fine emery board 
A few light passes with it took out the visible scratches, and the worst of the sound went away also, but it had a brushed look in that portion of the bar.
So I went down to my local Tandy Leather store, got a little stick of Jeweler's Rouge and a piece of leather.
Took them home, rubbed some of the jeweler's rouge on the leather, and used it like a 'strop', laying the leather on a flat, hard surface, and making sure I used even pressure along the bar, and polished out all of the rest of the mess I had made.
Now there are no more scratches, or brushed look.
there is also no more extraneous string noise when playing.
The moral of this story is, Sometimes it pays to be a cheapskate. |
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Terry VunCannon
From:
Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2014 8:33 am
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| I have a SP-1 bar from 2002, that got dinged very bad on the nose from a drop on brick floor at an outside gig in 2004. I thought it was done for. My brother took it and buffed it, the brass now shows thru, and it is still one of my fave tonebars today. It has over a decade of MOJO in it. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 28 Dec 2014 10:07 am Those darn nicks and scratches....................
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One day, while playing a television show, I felt a slight tugging on my bar hand while playing. I went for a closer examination and what to my wondering eyes did appear?
A multitude of scratches and grooves where my strings had literally worn the chrome plating off during my many years of using this neat little tapered bar. It was just the perfect size for my small hands however the brass core was shining thro' some of the deeper crevices.
Sadly I replaced it with a stainless steel bar and have never regretted it. There are so many different things from which to choose these days and they tend to all look the same. Be choosy in making your decision.
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 28 Dec 2014 10:11 am Here's a good one!
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| I don't know for sure if it will read your mind as well as 'a wife does' however, DRAGON will type for you merely by talking to it. |
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John Limbach
From:
Billings, Montana, USA
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Posted 28 Dec 2014 12:51 pm
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| The powder coated bars are the bomb! Great tone and very, very, smooth on the strings. Made a believer of me the first time I tried it. |
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Andre Nizzari
From:
Bronx, NY
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Posted 31 Dec 2014 6:40 pm
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powder coats wear though, bullet bars made really great chrome plated ones.. I like lead crystal but they are lighter then steel.
_________________
Blues in a doggy bag, is what I got to eat! |
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