I am planning to get help from a sheet metal worker to create a hearth pad/spark guard in copper for my stove.
The plan is for it to look like Image 1 below but with slightly different dimensions and without the "folded" edge as in my CAD drawing in Image 2 below.
What I'm wondering is what thickness the sheet should be. Most spark guards seem to be about 1 mm thick. However, copper might be a little softer, and it seems available in 1, 1.2, 1.5, and perhaps even 2 mm. I assume the price goes up with thickness, but maybe it's better to go as thick as possible?
Then I wonder what hardness the material should have. When I search online, I find
Half-hard SS 5013-04
Annealed (extra soft)
I want it as hard as possible for durability, so should I go for half-hard, or is there perhaps an even better option?
My final question is whether you need some type of edge leveling so it’s not sharp? I don't want a clearly marked edge, just want to avoid it being sharp. What is such an edge called?
