I think hanging onto a 16 inch long bar would be a problem if you are holding it vertical. A face mill would not be my first choice to do this.
I would lay it on it's side in a vice and use a 1 inch x 2 inch LOC roughing endmill to face it, maybe one pass, leave about 0.020 for finishing. If you need a good finish, then switch to a 1 inch finishing endmill and finish to size.