We're at this stage as well, and as I've been home sick I figured I could try to come up with ideas of my own. The consensus is that my plan would be rather heavy, but it's possible I just embellished it too much.
Minimized (click either for a larger version)
Maximized
Anyone have more experience with extruded aluminum? How much does the stuff weigh? Would the sliders breaking be a problem? I don't know enough to make truly informed decisions regarding this plan, so I'm off to research I guess.