George wrote:
...
Other folks have said the rods are Zinc. I've read that Zinc is
popular for what they call "Lost Wax Zinc Casting". ...

If you're thinking about using these rods as casting material, it will
be way expensive. IIRC, I paid about $16/lb for the rods. For casting
I got a bunch of old zinc roof flashing. Some pulleys are die cast zinc
alloy, as are some carburetors. Melting down junkers of these would be
_much_ cheaper.

Bob