Softer material I’m worried about deflecting; there’s a good amount of force being put onto a fairly thin area; thus the reason why it’s deflecting horribly right now. As for cost of material; the amount of AL needed, any shop should be able to pull out of the scrap bin; honestly the parts are not that big.
We through out TONS of pieces at my work larger than would be needed for these, so even if I have to supply material, that’s not a problem.
And Labor - the difference in time is negligible; the parts are too small for cutting time to have a serious impact.