I don't think you'll avoid metal to wood contact, the strips are to hold the wood in place, but if ya wanna worry about it, put a good finish on the back of the skids, and of course make sure the outer 'feet' of the strip is smooth and doesn't have any sharp edge from the stamping

Bill

Moved over to the Passing Lane

"When we tug a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world" ~ John Muir
"When we tug a single thing on an old truck, we find it falls off" ~ me
Some TF series details & TF heater pics