I have previously used a carbon composite resistor as a way of replacing the plastic dowel in my page: Fixing thumb stick on game controller with Inanimate carbon rod as a temporary hack.  It is a bit more messy.  It was working fine until I came up with the rivet idea.

Until recently, hardware stores here are closed during a soft lock down. Postal and courier deliveries are impacted by the lock down as bored people sitting at home ordering stuff. So you got to make do with what you have if you only got a resistor instead of rivets.  

I prefer critical parts to be made out of metal because of superior strength over injected molded plastics, so naturally I would rather sit down with a file or trying to bend things instead of ''3D printing'' them.

This project is a definition of a hack as that wasn't the intended purpose, but it mostly fits all the dimensions of an enhanced aftermarket repair part with only a small amount of effort with tools available at home.  I think it fits the theme of 'making tech at home'.