Aluminum Angle Question

Posted this in my build thread but haven't heard anything...As far as aluminum angle goes, should I be getting 6061 structural or 6063 architectural? I've seen people use both. I'm leaning towards 6063 as it would be easier to rivet together, but is 6061 with the added strength what I should be getting???

personally,i used a lot of architectural and maybe 8 ft of structural.get both.

I used 6063 throughout my build and it is strong and worked very well. Check out Brine's build and see the problem he ran in to with the structural stuff.

Here is the gist of it so you don't need to find and read through all 11 pages of Brine's build just to find the 6061 vs 6063 info (that thread should still be read at some point though, it is very good)

6061 has rounded corners, but is about 2x the strength of 6063.

The rounded corners make it so you need a spacer or to grind some things for clearance.

With spacer


Here's the section of Brine's build where it is discussed.

Use the 6063 and don't look back.

Alright, thanks! I saw that part of the build and just wanted to make sure as I know I've seen other threads where people said they used it. I had planned on going with the 6063, thanks for confirming the decision guys

This is a good thread...because I am trying to figure this out before I buy my angle. The guys who have posted before are saying 6063. This is what makes sense in my head too but wonder if there are any members out there that used the 6061 and didn't have to use spacers? Can you still get 6061 to work fine without spacers? It's cheaper, that is why I am asking. Also, from the 6063 users, have you noticed a lack of strength with it?
I know a couple other guys who are wondering the same thing. Still a little unsure about what to use. Let's get this back up for discussion and hear from some of the veterans...

I used 6061 and didnt use spacers. I just left that small gap where the curve is. Could have ground the corners but didnt really see a need. I used 1/4" pop rivets to put it all together. My deck is for storage so it was never intended to hold the weight of a person but after getting it built, I could jump up and down on the thing. That stuff is strong and I only used 1x1x1/8".

My battery tray was framed up with 6063 and my hatch doors will be as well. I also ran out of the 6061 and still need about 4' for the support under my trolling motor. That will also be finished with 6063 since thats all I can find localy. I'm not paying shipping for less than 5' of 6061 to finish my deck.

6061 ia also a bit cheaper. I got my angle from onlinemetals.com. Thats by far the best price. 36' of 1X1X1/8" locally was 100 bucks. I ordered the same 36' of 6061 and 16' of 6063 and paid 20 bucks for shipping and my total bill was still 35 bucks less than buying from the local metal supplier.

Oh, Ive installed roughly 50' of aluminum angle in the nose of my boat. That only adds up to about 10 pounds of additional weight. Thats less than the weight of the plywood deck alone for the guys who do this in wood!!

here's my thread about framing w/ aluminum angle: 1436 front deck framing

i used 6061 in both 2x2 and 1.25x1.25 all in 0.125 (1/8") thickness from onlinemetals

without my floor installed yet, the framing is ROCK solid vertically, with very minimal lateral flex which will be fixed once floor installed. i gapped the L brackets to account for the curve inside. the "structural" 6061 is stronger because of the curve. the 6063 is not as strong versus a stick of 6061, but if you square everything up, it's going to be just about as strong if you properly support everything. in retrospect, i probably should've just used the 6061 simply for the sake of an easier installation. if you tried to bend a stick of 6063 angle you'd find it easier than a stick of 6061, so that means you'll need more vertical supports if you opt for 6063. i chose the 6061 for strength and because it allowed my storage areas to be larger due to needing less vertical supports. the 2x2 i used just barely flexed in the middle before i put in the vertical support. the 1.25x1.25 did flex pretty good until it was vertically supported. that's about a 5' span there in the pics between benches. here's a couple pics before vertical supports:





& w/ just enough vertical support for a sturdy deck using 1/4" thick diamond plate:



& with all the extra stuff i had to add to be able to box in my gun box (none of these extra ones were necessary for structural integrity):





checkout my framing thread for more pics

I liked the idea of the 90° corners of 6063, I just didn't like the idea of giving up the strength. At the time, I wasn't even aware that there was a difference in price between the 2 so that didn't affect my decision to go with 6061. Any time I attached 2 pieces together where the inside corner was going to be an issue, I ground the end of the joining piece with my 4" side grinder. It was simple and only added a few seconds of extra time for each joint. Overall added time on the project from grinding the ends was minimal. And now I can relax and enjoy the fishing while I'm out on the lake rather than spend my time worrying that something might break/bend.

JMichael said:

Any time I attached 2 pieces together where the inside corner was going to be an issue, I ground the end of the joining piece with my 4" side grinder. It was simple and only added a few seconds of extra time for each joint.

Click to expand...

good to know, i probably should have done that too!

here's a close up of how i gapped my 6061:

Any time I joined 2 pieces of angle (mostly vertical supports), I tried to orient the metal so that the strength came from the metal having to be compressed instead of relying on the strength of the rivet and the possibility the rivet could be sheared in half. That's one of the reasons that rounding the ends off was necessary to get a good fit.

Wow, thanks for the pics and explanations. It really helped. In conclusion, there are a couple different ways to do it and they all work. Having some of each sounds like the best option. Oh, onlinemetals.com is by far the best priced!

I am going to incorporate the ideas from Bassblaster, JMichael, and Chevyrulz. I will submit some pics when complete to add to this thread and help out future members. This website is money!

MNHunter505 said:

Wow, thanks for the pics and explanations. It really helped. In conclusion, there are a couple different ways to do it and they all work. Having some of each sounds like the best option. Oh, onlinemetals.com is by far the best priced!

I am going to incorporate the ideas from Bassblaster, JMichael, and Chevyrulz. I will submit some pics when complete to add to this thread and help out future members. This website is money!

Click to expand...

definitely build it in your head and on paper, several times, before you start ordering & building the aluminum angle, it will save you time & money. each time i go to do something i realize something else must be done first, like wiring, supporting, etc