Mick,
That sounds like a great idea with the coax.
There's lot's of creativity out there, and it's interesting to see how "new" things get quickly accepted---- beads on nymphs, crease flies, silicone/Foto Flo, tube flies etc.
Some folks use speaker wire for ribbing, aquarium gravel and the lichen stuff used for landscaping model railroads for cased caddis, thin fast food straws and corsair type braids used in surgery for bodies on saltwater patterns, and anti-static stuff used to ship computer components for midge wings.
Came across this one the other day using a tea bag to reinforce a wing on a caddis pattern:
http://www.flyforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=24099
peregrines