The Tack Box · Metal Weight

Aluminum square tube weight calculator

Aluminum square tube weighs about a third of the same steel HSS, which is why it ends up on trailers, frames, and railings. 6061-T6 is 0.0975 lb/in³. A 2×2×1/8 tube is 1.05 lb/ft. A 3×3×1/4 is 3.03 lb/ft. Enter the outside size and wall thickness below.

Updated September 2026

Quick answer

Calculate 6061 aluminum square tube weight by outside dimension and wall thickness.

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Common 6061 aluminum square tube weights

Outside × walllb/ft
1" × 1" × 1/8"0.46
1.5" × 1.5" × 1/8"0.76
2" × 2" × 1/8"1.05
2" × 2" × 3/16"1.48
2" × 2" × 1/4"1.86
3" × 3" × 3/16"2.36
3" × 3" × 1/4"3.03
4" × 4" × 1/4"4.20

These use nominal wall and the same rounded-corner model as the calculator: outside corner radius twice the wall, inside radius one wall, the way structural steel tube is figured. Extruded aluminum tube often has tighter corners than that, so real extrusions can run a few percent heavier than this table.

Questions welders ask about this one

How much does 2×2×1/8 aluminum tube weigh?

About 1.05 lb per foot in 6061, with the corners rounded the way the calculator models them. The same size in mild steel HSS is 3.05 lb/ft, so aluminum saves you roughly two-thirds of the weight for the same section.

Is 6061 and 6063 aluminum tube the same weight?

Yes for any practical quoting. 6063 is 2.69 g/cm³ (0.0972 lb/in³) against 0.0975 for 6061-T6, about 0.3% lighter. 6063 is the softer architectural alloy used for clean anodized extrusions; 6061 is the structural workhorse. Weight per foot is the same for quoting.

How do I calculate custom aluminum square tube weight?

Cross-section = 2 × wall × (2 × outside − 2 × wall), less the rounded corners: (4 − π) × (Ro² − Ri²), with Ro = 2 × wall and Ri = wall. Multiply by length and 0.0975 lb/in³. Example: 2.5 × 2.5 × 3/16 over 8 ft comes to 15.4 lb. Or just plug it into the calculator above.

Weight is only half of material cost. To turn these pounds into a number you can quote, run the weld cost calculator for wire, gas, and labor per inch, or the job pricing calculator to build the whole bid.

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