Buying & cutting Aluminum Profile for self builds - What tools for the Job?

[Lloyd Johnston]

Hi peeps I'm hopefully going to get a DIY workshop built in the back garden for hobby stuff etc.

I have an Aluminum Profile rig the GT1 EVO Sim Racing Cockpit from sim-lab.eu but I've liked working/adjusting the profile so much that I'm thinking of building some adjustable workbenches and storage etc from it.

BUT i'm really a total noob when it comes to DIY self builds and I'm wondering about where to get Aluminum Profile and what tools like a table saw etc would be needed to work with it.

If anyone has exspeance working with Aluminum Profile it would be great to get some advice, even if it's "don't do it" lol

If anyone has experience working with Aluminum Profile it would be great to get some advice, even if it's "don't do it" lol.

I can be talked into just using wood, but it's gone up in price quite a bit and you can't just recustomise it by moving things in the slots.

I should add that I live in Northern Ireland, so companies based in the UK or Ireland would be great

Cheers
Lloyd.

 

[Emery]

Biggest difficulty for DIY aluminum profile is making square cuts, so whatever cutting tool you choose, it needs to not let cuts wander. I would choose a sliding compound miter saw over a table saw for this kind of work. Obviously a metal-cutting blade is used.

Drill press and center punch if you're making your own fixtures, like flat plates, etc.

 

[Ruttman98]

I have an old Mikita 10-inch compound miter saw which can cut through approx. 6-in material. If I were to buy a new miter saw for this purpose as well as light carpentry, I would opt for a sliding miter saw of with least 10-in blade diameter, preferably 12-in. for wide materials like shelve boards.

I purchased the following non-ferrous blade from Amazon in 2018 and have made lots of cuts:

Benchmark Abrasives 10" TCT Saw Blade with 5/8" Arbor, Circular Saw Blades for Cutting Plastic Aluminum Non-Ferrous Metals Fiberglass, Smooth Cutting ‎(10" - 80 Teeth) https://a.co/d/bDbpCMi

The blade makes clean cuts without much need for deburring; edges can be smoothed using a hand file or a rotary tool such as a Dremel. The blade also works well on wood.

One can spend much more on a non-ferepus blade from Diablo or other big names, but I would buy the Benchmark Abrasives blade for $30 again if it need to be replaced (still going strong!) Money well spent.

 

[Emery]

After sleeping on it, add a countersink drill and machinist's deburring tools, one for edges & one for drilled holes.

 

[ao1977]

TBH I'd look out for shops that offer profiles cut to length. Especially when you think of other accessories you need but cannot make by yourself, like end caps. So if you need to order these, you might as well spare yourself the hassle and order pre-cut profiles right away.

Liveing in Germany, I recently ordered profiles and accessories from https://www.dold-mechatronik.de/ and https://www.3d24.eu/