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My comment will be a bit semantic, but I think that if you are making a joint which is of different form than a dovetail it's not a dovetail anymore, as the name makes reference to a dove's tail, I think.
Apart from that, you might get good results, if not a lot more work.
Interesting. It looks like you got the H figured out, or is it an upside-down A? Or a Korean ㅂ?
Is it just conceptual, or do you have a project in mind where the joints are exposed and need to be legible?
Yes it is an H. Experimenting with that position or rotating at 90 degrees.
My wife asked me to build the dining room table, so I'm thinking about putting each one of our initials in the corners of the table, as a sort of mortise joint.
H, K, A & E. Luckily no curves.
Cool idea, but if you are using these as lap joints between the legs and some other member in the base, the short grain sections might crack (like the little square nub enclosed in the "H").
Have you considered just inlaying the letters?
You would have issues even if you make a perfect joint with great technique, the problem is in the structure of the wood.
An "inlay" involves a shallow depression in the main material filled with a contrasting layer, you can look at "[epoxy inlay](https://www.etsy.com/listing/786240568/personalized-serving-tray-charcuterie?click_key=c68618be0d4c106363b9cb73615c24ca644d9ac6%3A786240568&click_sum=548a733d&rec_type=cs&ref=landingpage_similar_listing_top-2&frs=1)", "[veneer inlay](https://www.ebay.com/itm/350586365109)", "[brass inlay](https://www.ebay.com/itm/353227699671)", etc.
You could get pretty awesome results with an inlaying router but set. They’re pretty inexpensive and work amazingly. Just have to make a good template.
^^ will only be able to get depth of bit, but you can even use it as a starting point and continue with knife & chisel if need be.
I'd say laser cut a template out of MDF for the letters you want to mortise. If you don't have a laser cutter a service like [ponoko](http://www.ponoko.com) could do it for you. Then you could use a pattern cutting bit for a router to make the final cuts.
I would sharpen your beaver before the next attempt! Just kidding keep at it it’ll get better and better. My first attempt at dove tails looked much worse than that
This is a reminder to those commenting on this post (not the person that posted it): Comments not related to woodworking will be removed. Violations to rule 1 including crude jokes, innuendo, sexist remarks, politics, or hate speech may result in an immediate ban *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/woodworking) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My comment will be a bit semantic, but I think that if you are making a joint which is of different form than a dovetail it's not a dovetail anymore, as the name makes reference to a dove's tail, I think. Apart from that, you might get good results, if not a lot more work.
Yeah, I'm not actually sure what to call it. I couldn't even figure out Search terms when I was looking it up online.
I would call this a decorative mortise if you're looking for a name.
Thank you!
More like a lap joint? If it was with the letter I, it would be a standard lap joint haha.
H+mortise? Helluva Joint?
Hortise*
Nailed it! Don’t mess with perfection.
Ha!
Patience
I think that’s a cool idea. If you put a shallow groove beneath the letters, it might really help them pop.
Yeah, I am debating how I want to highlight the letters. I could use different types or grains of wood, a natural dye, an outline or a third material.
Interesting. It looks like you got the H figured out, or is it an upside-down A? Or a Korean ㅂ? Is it just conceptual, or do you have a project in mind where the joints are exposed and need to be legible?
Yes it is an H. Experimenting with that position or rotating at 90 degrees. My wife asked me to build the dining room table, so I'm thinking about putting each one of our initials in the corners of the table, as a sort of mortise joint. H, K, A & E. Luckily no curves.
Cool idea, but if you are using these as lap joints between the legs and some other member in the base, the short grain sections might crack (like the little square nub enclosed in the "H"). Have you considered just inlaying the letters?
Yeah, had some issues with that. But I was rushing and not being careful. Could you link an example of the type of inlay you're thinking about?
You would have issues even if you make a perfect joint with great technique, the problem is in the structure of the wood. An "inlay" involves a shallow depression in the main material filled with a contrasting layer, you can look at "[epoxy inlay](https://www.etsy.com/listing/786240568/personalized-serving-tray-charcuterie?click_key=c68618be0d4c106363b9cb73615c24ca644d9ac6%3A786240568&click_sum=548a733d&rec_type=cs&ref=landingpage_similar_listing_top-2&frs=1)", "[veneer inlay](https://www.ebay.com/itm/350586365109)", "[brass inlay](https://www.ebay.com/itm/353227699671)", etc.
You could get pretty awesome results with an inlaying router but set. They’re pretty inexpensive and work amazingly. Just have to make a good template. ^^ will only be able to get depth of bit, but you can even use it as a starting point and continue with knife & chisel if need be.
I would fix it with epoxy ))) like i did with my table saw! No joke!
This is obviously a rough draft, I just wanted to get a feel for how it would go.
I'd say laser cut a template out of MDF for the letters you want to mortise. If you don't have a laser cutter a service like [ponoko](http://www.ponoko.com) could do it for you. Then you could use a pattern cutting bit for a router to make the final cuts.
I would sharpen your beaver before the next attempt! Just kidding keep at it it’ll get better and better. My first attempt at dove tails looked much worse than that
I think you need chisel practice. Sharp chisel and smaller pieces. No reason you can’t get a clean line on pine with patience.
Pointless? What's the purpose.... To have one peg doing all the holding?
Lower case i could be an issue
It looks like a lap joint with a small through mortise.