Yes, that's the correct shape but I was wanting to cover an area about 14" by 18". I can get 1/8" aka .125 Diamond patterned Aluminum plate at the local metal shop but I'd have to buy a half sheet 4 foot by 4 foot and I only need a small part of that. That's ok though because I've come up with a better idea.
First, I was putting a lot of thought into what I wanted and how I wanted to achieve that and realized something. It's the old armor plate conundrum: What happens when the irresistible force meets the impenetrable armor plate? Somethings gotta give and it's goinging to be violent!
I'8 inch thick plate is fairly thick as such things go so any impact big enough to smash it in would be distributed over it's whole surface. I could barely nick a curb with just the corner and bust that entire section of the coach off instead of just the corner because the plate spread the impact out instead of just busting off. Hmmm. Not good!
I can get a 3 foot by 3 foot section of Aluminum Diamond pattern plate at Home Depot that's .062 thick aka 1/16" . I can also get a sheet of rubber that's 1/16" thick. With a couple of those plates and a roll of rubber, I can make two corner guard plate sandwiches 18" by 18" with two metal plates and two rubbers per and then trim to size. Big scissors will cut the metal plate and you can bend it over your coffee table.
Mounting will be via self tapping screw. (No holes to drill) The rubber sheets compressed between the metal plates will compress around the screws so it will waterproof itself as it's being screwed on.
The rubber/metal sandwiches will absorb impacts as well as the thicker plate but will just bend/break if it hit's some immovable object because it has low lateral strength. To me, that means that when I smack the next traffic cone (or branch, road debris, car/truck part, etc. etc.), I'll just have to use some cleaner to wipe it's remains off instead of looking at a slightly dented coach.
On the other hand: If I nick a curb and it busts that corner off, I can walk around looking at it and say "Well sheeiit! It worked. Look at that. The corner is still hanging there from the smushed over stone guard. A little Super Glue and we'll be back on the road in no time".
I'll take some before and after photo's and post them here. I'll take some of the building process for the "New and Improved Super Duper Cushioning Smush Away Stone Guards" too. (I've always wondered how it can be new and improved at the same time? If it's new, it just got here so can it already be improved?) I enact International Copyright Laws on that name by the way. You can copy my design and make your own but you gotta call it something else!
www.cornerguardsonline.com
