What section do they hide it in? I've wandered all over 3 of them, and can't find anything resembling brass rod. I've got some coming in the mail, but it would be nice to find a local source.

And while I'm thinking about it, do you have to use rod for our purposes, or could a straightened piece of 14 ga. wire serve the purpose? I've seen some wire spools in the jewelry section of craft stores, but passed it up since I'm not certain if that would be too soft. And most of it is copper or aluminum, brass seems to stop at 16 ga.