Thanks guys.
cathprod,
I had zero metal work experience before this build. I had some wood working experience, so I've used mitre saws, skill saws, jig saws, etc.... and know how to read a tape measure. I cut all of the deck with a cordless skill saw using a piece of tubing clamped down as a guilde. As long as you can create a straight fence, making the cut is easy. The ACM is easy to cut with cordless stuff, but if I were using .125 aluminum sheet, I'm sure the cordless wouldn't have gotten the job done.
Some advice as a possible first timer that's worth repeating. You need eye and ear protection every time when cutting aluminum. It's probably a good idea to wear a dust mask as well. Several times I found myself making 20 cuts at a time with the mitre saw, and little flakes of aluminum were hanging in the air. Also, cutting 1.5 angle on a mitre saw is ear piercing, and had I not used ear protection, I would be deaf by now. Working with metal, the tolerances are alot less forgiving than wood, so many of my cuts were made after mocking up the piece and making a mark on it as opposed to simply measuring and cutting. You can't overcome an 1/8" in most applications with aluminum whether it's too big or small, and aluminum costs significantly more than wood. Bottom line is I spent alot of time cutting the material to the exact measurement I needed. Had it all been wood, it would have been much quicker, but that's just me. It also takes longer to drill and pop a rivet than it does to run a screw. Multiply that times a couple thousand, and the time difference becomes substantial. That said, I'm still happy with the results, how I've engineered it, and the decision not to use wood.
I think working with metal isn't much if any more difficult than working with wood when you look at the pros and cons of both, it just seems to take a bit longer and requires a bit more precision.
