[Dick Linn]

Rather than buying from Home Depot or Loew's, you may want to find an industrial supplier. Sometimes they will have shorts (or "drops" and "dings)), or even small scraps that they will sell for less or even donate. Our local steel suppliers stock all types of aluminum. It generally runs about $3 per pound, which is the smallish sizes of tube and angle is roughly a buck a foot. I got a 21 foot piece of 1" x 1" x 1/8" square tube for about $27. Some places will lop them into more transportable sizes without charge.