thats a good idea for tent stakes. they would work rather well as long as you are not on a rocky soil or in a high weather type scenario. you do have a point thought with byeing the rods. the best bet would be to go to somewhere that uses magnesium, like a gun shop. and see if they have scrap pieces lying around. they may not be rods but if you have the machinery to tool them to a rod shape then it could work.