[DaveL]

A grinder is great for trimming steel, but not so much for use on aluminum. The soft aluminum will attach to the wheel and clog it up.

Every time we cut aluminum it leaves a sharp edge. We use a basic belt/disk sander. (Found at Sears, HD and Lowes) to round (break) the edges. We also use a hand held deburring tool to clean up holes and interior edges.

For more control buy a variety of files: round, flat, fine, course, small and large.
Course files remove material quickly, fine files leave a smoother finish.
Round files are for smoothing holes and other interior shapes.
Large files are used for long parts and small files can get into tight spaces.

Like others have mentioned a band saw and a drill press are must haves.
You also need good lighting, a shop vac a floor vac and handheld drills. We like the battery powered handheld drills.

Yes a table saw is nice, but we are severely limited on space. Instead of a table saw we use a jig saw and a circular saw for cutting sheet material wider than our band saw.