T Slot Aluminum

[Gtinnel]

I'm getting ready to build a bracket to mount some new lights to and I'd like to use a single 6' piece of t-slot aluminum. Where do most hobbyists buy it from that's affordable. Everywhere I've seen its the shipping that causes the price to high, and I didn't see any for sale locally.
Anyone mind sharing their source.

 

[MnFish1]

I'm getting ready to build a bracket to mount some new lights to and I'd like to use a single 6' piece of t-slot aluminum. Where do most hobbyists buy it from that's affordable. Everywhere I've seen its the shipping that causes the price to high, and I didn't see any for sale locally.
Anyone mind sharing their source.

Hope this helps (Free shipping) - but I don't know the usual cost - its 2 pieces per order:

 

[dantimdad]

Amazon.

I don't know if you can get it that long though from them.

 

[reefinnewb]

Anything over 48" is going to be expensive to ship. I get mine from Zyltech.com. They only supply up to 50" I believe. Their shipping isn't bad and the price of the actual piece is cheaper than most. You can check out 80/20.com as well.

Edit: if you search, you can get "couplers" for the t-slot that can join pieces together end to end. So get two 30" pieces and couple them together. Make sure to buy them for the series you will be using.

Like this:

 

[Hydrored]

Grainger carries 8020 brand for local pick-up, it's a little more pricey than direct but after you include shipping the cost is about the same-

https://www.grainger.com/category/material-handling/storage-workspace/structural-framing-systems/t-slot-structural-framing-systems

 

[Gtinnel]

Anything over 48" is going to be expensive to ship. I get mine from Zyltech.com. They only supply up to 50" I believe. Their shipping isn't bad and the price of the actual piece is cheaper than most. You can check out 80/20.com as well.

Edit: if you search, you can get "couplers" for the t-slot that can join pieces together end to end. So get two 30" pieces and couple them together. Make sure to buy them for the series you will be using.

Like this:

Yes I knew shipping was going to be what killed me on the price. I considered joining two pieces but I'd prefer to have one continuous piece if reasonable price wise. The places that offer free shipping, like Amazon, often just factor shipping into the price.

 

[Gtinnel]

Grainger carries 8020 brand for local pick-up, it's a little more pricey than direct but after you include shipping the cost is about the same-

https://www.grainger.com/category/material-handling/storage-workspace/structural-framing-systems/t-slot-structural-framing-systems

This is exactly what I was hoping for. I checked Home Depot and Lowes but I never even considered checking at Grainger. It seems like I can get the 6' piece that I need for just over $30 which is well within what I'm willing to pay.

Thanks

 

[MnFish1]

Yes I knew shipping was going to be what killed me on the price. I considered joining two pieces but I'd prefer to have one continuous piece if reasonable price wise. The places that offer free shipping, like Amazon, often just factor shipping into the price.

The link I provided was 72 inches 2 pieces - free shipping - but as you said - the price is often included - though sometimes not. I compared a little - the price does not seem unreasonable. After all - the product has to be shipped to a local 'store' as well - so there will always be a shipping cost involved (somehow

 

[Gtinnel]

The link I provided was 72 inches 2 pieces - free shipping - but as you said - the price is often included - though sometimes not. I compared a little - the price does not seem unreasonable. After all - the product has to be shipped to a local 'store' as well - so there will always be a shipping cost involved (somehow

I looked at the link you provided but it still makes each piece around $55 each which isn't too bad, but at Grainger I can get them for $33/piece. The other thing with the Amazon link having 2 pieces is that I only need the one piece so the second one would go unused. Which means I would kind of be paying over $110 for the piece I need.

Actually I just looked again and the pieces you linked are bigger 1.5" pieces, so probably not a bad price for the size just a little more than I was hoping to spend and a little bigger than I need to hang a few small led lights from.

I actually found a place where I can buy it for $20 in the next state over from me, which I will be there this weekend. Unfortunately the business is closed on the weekend and the shipping was around $100.

 

[Hydrored]

I would go with 1.5 (15 series) if it were me and I did for my light fixture build.
If it’s just one single rail being supported in 3 placed 1” is ok

not sure what lights but you are covered for the future, my lights are heavy

 

[Gtinnel]

I would go with 1.5 (15 series) if it were me and I did for my light fixture build.
If it’s just one single rail being supported in 3 placed 1” is ok

not sure what lights but you are covered for the future, my lights are heavy

Its 5 of the new noopsyche lights, which is just under 20lbs total. I currently have 4 mounting points in my ceiling for my current lights, so I can easily support the rail in 4 spots. Do you think the bigger rail would be necessary? The one I'm looking at on Grainger is a 10 series, which I'm assuming is 1" wide, which I assumed would be plenty strong enough. Although I have essentially no experience with t slot aluminum.

After looking at the bigger one the price on Amazon is very reasonable per piece. If all else fails I'll just use aluminum square tubing, which is cheap and locally available. I just like the though of the slot so that the mounting points are adjustable to change position of the lights, since I don't plan on evenly spacing them across the 6' length.

 

[kenbennedy]

I have been pretty happy with the hardware I ordered from tnutz.com. You can get a shipping quote once items are added to your cart.

 

[JGT]

I did 2 - 8' pieces and 1 - 1' piece from Amazon.

 

[JGT]

In the end, you wind up paying about the same regardless of where you get it. Some say free shipping but roll it into the cost of the pieces.

 

[Gtinnel]

I have been pretty happy with the hardware I ordered from tnutz.com. You can get a shipping quote once items are added to your cart.

The 10 series piece is about $15 and $45 to ship, which is probably a very good price for shipping. If I were getting a lot of it I would definitely go this route but I'll probably still stick with Grainger if the consensus is that the 10 series is strong enough. It is a very nice website that gives you every option you could image to get the piece exactly how you want it. If I ever design a metal stand I would absolutely use them.

ETA- maybe I just need to find some other project where I can use more of it so that I can justify the shipping cost. It's like Legos for adults.

 

[kenbennedy]

The 10 series piece is about $15 and $45 to ship, which is probably a very good price for shipping. If I were getting a lot of it I would definitely go this route but I'll probably still stick with Grainger if the consensus is that the 10 series is strong enough. It is a very nice website that gives you every option you could image to get the piece exactly how you want it. If I ever design a metal stand I would absolutely use them.

ETA- maybe I just need to find some other project where I can use more of it so that I can justify the shipping cost. It's like Legos for adults.

I put my whole stand together with material from tnutz; 48" x 36" x 34" high.

Two joined (bolted together) pieces of shorter extrusion can 100% be as strong and stiff as one continuous piece. Cosmetically they may differ,

 

[Gtinnel]

I put my whole stand together with material from tnutz; 48" x 36" x 34" high.

Two joined (bolted together) pieces of shorter extrusion can 100% be as strong and stiff as one continuous piece. Cosmetically they may differ,

I mistakenly assumed it was weaker if two shorter pieces joined together. This opens up a bunch of new options for much less shipping charges.
I really like the site you linked and if I were going to need more than 1 piece I would definitely order from there.

 

[kenbennedy]

I mistakenly assumed it was weaker if two shorter pieces joined together. This opens up a bunch of new options for much less shipping charges.
I really like the site you linked and if I were going to need more than 1 piece I would definitely order from there.

Do you have a sketch/photo of what you are building? How big/heavy are the lights?

 

[Gtinnel]

Do you have a sketch/photo of what you are building? How big/heavy are the lights?

It's literally just a single piece of t slot hanging horizontal from the ceiling with the lights attached directly to it. I can hang the rail from as many as 4 spots from the ceiling, and its 5 lights that weight about 20 pounds total. I figured 1inch would be plenty strong enough.

 

[tsouth]

The 10 series piece is about $15 and $45 to ship, which is probably a very good price for shipping. If I were getting a lot of it I would definitely go this route but I'll probably still stick with Grainger if the consensus is that the 10 series is strong enough. It is a very nice website that gives you every option you could image to get the piece exactly how you want it. If I ever design a metal stand I would absolutely use them.

ETA- maybe I just need to find some other project where I can use more of it so that I can justify the shipping cost. It's like Legos for adults.

tnutz.com is top notch. They're incredibly quick and also provide a plethora of machining options eg drilling holes for feet. Their prices are really great as well in comparison to many other's whom are in the same field but trying to fill the aquarium stand gap. There's a thread around here you outta check out titled "Show me your t slot stands"