I say tomato, you say tomato... I haven't mastered the skill of making a traditional dovetail in my own construction. I really appreciate you folks letting me play in your sandbox as I am primarily an electric guitar maker with some limited success in applying what I know toward shorter scale 8 string instruments that are tuned like a mandolin. Getting back to the original post, string tension stress on a mandolin seems to be significantly higher than a guitar or a violin so it follows that measures are justified to employ a stronger joint and the fear of going through all of the work of building an acoustic instrument only to fail while trying to execute a dovetail joint prevents me from taking the leap. That said, I have seen quite a few skinny, and seemingly inferior joints function adequately. With instrument repair as my primary mode of income for twenty years, I can't say that I've seen any difference in the number of failed mortise and tenon joints to failed dovetail joints. I am in awe that violins don't simply fly apart. I think its likely that if you use good wood, good glue, integrity in your application of skill, and intuition, the choice of joint becomes secondary.
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