Extrusion Shelving Unit
A modular shelving unit designed and fabricated from aluminium extrusion profiles. Brutally simple, easily re-configrable and cheap as chips.
The living room in our flat featured a tiny little recess between the door and an inset wall. I wanted to use the space for something, but couldn’t figure out what. Doing built-in shelves seemed like a chore, and I couldn’t find anything off the shelf that would fit. I also wanted the opportunity to make a bit of furniture for the flat that I could design and build with minimal effort.
Why aluminium extrusion
T-slot aluminium extrusion is an industrial framing system used in factory machinery and CNC enclosures. A 40×40mm profile is incredibly stiff, can be cut to any length, and connects with blind joints and T-nuts — no welding, no drilling. The result is a structure you can reconfigure with an Allen key. We use extrusion at work for various applications, initially for making tech demos for tradeshows, and now, for developing custom camera mounting rigs for customers.
Design process
I modelled the unit in Fusion 360, using the very handy McMasterCarr parts library extension to pull in all the standard components. The shelves are 18mm birch plywood with routed edges, sitting on aluminium angles bolted directly into the T-slots. Corner brackets handle the vertical–horizontal joints.
Procuring parts and assembly
I’ve been using Ooznest for aluminium extrusion and accessories for years. They are UK-based, deliver quickly and offer decent prices. I got some plywood panels cut by CutMy. The rest of the standard hardware was easily sourced. I got some threaded end-caps so that I could put the whole unit on casters.
I also added some eyelets and tied on some lengths of climbing rope to the give the unit a pop of colour. The whole thing came together in an hour or so.
Outcome
The unit has been in use for a year now. I’ve reconfigured the shelf heights multiple times as storage needs changed — each time about ten minutes with an Allen key. I’ve since moved it do a different part of the room. I may order some new lengths and extend the footprint a little, and give it a bit more stability.
