On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:25:57 -0800, SteveB wrote:

Went all over today, and couldn't find any. Did find quarter twenty joiners
about an inch long. Hex in shape. Definitely steel Will use them this
trip to join the two short pieces together, and by next year, I'm sure
they'll be a blob. Maybe by then, I'll have something else figured out. I
DID find brass rod (not welding rod) in the metal section of Ace. Think
I'll go with my idea of cutting off some short threaded sections and welding
them on to the end of a solid brass rod for next year. Will be interesting
to see how hard they corrode on there. The other ones (combo aluminum body
with steel nuts) have been easy to get off. The brass threads are not
corroded much, and can be cleaned by just chasing with a nut run down from
the other end.

Brass all-thread is a common item, keep looking.

Paint, depending on circumstances, can do a lot to prevent corrosion.