Let's start by creating the bar itself.

Most of the time you'll see hardwood dowels being used, but I was looking to do something a little different, so I used some maple that was left over from another project. If you want, you can certainly use a dowel, just make sure that it's made from hardwood and not the soft (cheap) wood that you see most often in the big box hardware stores.

Start by sanding the wood with 120 grit sandpaper. Apply one or two coat of the ebony stain.

Once the stain is dry, sand it lightly with 220 grit sandpaper.

Finally apply two coats of wipe-on polyurethane.

Using a 1/4" bit, drill a 1" deep hole in each end of the bar.

Screw in the eye bolt.

Here's how it should look.

And here is a finish spreader bar.

I ended up making two that are 18" long and one that is 28" long.