RE: Wood dowel push rods
the best alternitive I've found is DAVE BROWNS fiberglass[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXB901&P=ML]pushrods[/link] push rods. It has the little to no flex and no interferance of the wood dowl with no slop issues
just get the right sized wire and fit em in with a 90 degree bend