I gathered together a chunk of 1/2" aluminum, two galvanized nails, two 1/4-20 carriage bolts, solder, and two threaded aluminum spacers and started to wreak havoc.

First I drilled a 1/8" hole in the end of the carriage bolts. Next, I sanded down the galvanized nails until they were something like 1/8".

I thought about getting some 1/8" rod but the hardware store is a 40 min drive round trip, and besides I hadn't shaved yet so the nails started to look pretty good. After sanding the nails I cut the pointy ends off and soldered them into the carriage bolts using a plumbers torch.

Next, I cut off all but the last 1/4" of the bolt, and cut off the head of the nail and then threaded (6-32) the head end of the nail.

Then I turned a 1/4" stub on the scrap aluminum and threaded (1/4-20) the stub, then through-drilled it to 1/8" to pass the nail-rod. I drilled and threaded a cross hole to allow clamping and I was done.