Excellent job on those instruments, Rick.
I have made struts from coffee stirring sticks. Don't know what kind of wood they are. They were a bit flimsy, so I glued two together, then sanded both sides down until I got the thickness I wanted. With the glue seam in the middle, they are significantly stiffer and stronger. Then drilled holes in each end for a mounting wire.
Good luck with the struts.