As others have mentioned kebab skewers are good for float stems also bamboo chop sticks. I've obtained crow quills from game keepers and I was given a supply of peacock quills by a lady in my village who kept peacocks but I also found some in a tackle shop and paid £5 for 70 one foot lengths. I've also picked up various bird quills at times when in the country or on the beach. I have a collection of old bottle corks.
It's worth asking in well established tackle shops as they often have float making bits tucked away that been in stock for ages and forgotten about. I bought a load of cork bodies at one time, the peacock quill mentioned above and also bought a shop out of the stainless steel eyes shown below. The ones on the left are for sliding floats. You can make float eyes from fine brass or copper wire but they tend to be soft.
![Image](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5729/20695850094_496d40674b_c.jpg)