Rust is not a problem if you remove all of the wires. That is what Pygmy says to do in there plans. If you plan on leaving the wires in, use copper, but the wires in my Tern were easy to remove, so stovepipe wire worked fine.

Mike

: About the steel wire. The only concern I would have would be rust. Sure,
: there isn't supposed to be any water in there but, it wouldn't take much
: to make a stain under your 'glass and varnish.
: Hope this helps.