Hi Norm ,
Here are the dimensions for the steel Victa needle, a rough drawing from the laptop touchpad.

The steel Victa needle is 3.1mm diameter ( ark welding rod is 3.25 mm) so it could be made from a nail.
If need be you can file or grind a couple of flat sections on the side of the needle for more fuel flow.

Cheers
Max.



Attachments
A needle 1.jpg (97.98 KB, 133 downloads)