"todd" wrote in message

My credentials: degree in mechanical engineering with a specialization in
strength of materials. Formerly a licensed professional engineer in the
state of Illinois. Based on the rough drawing, if you made 10 of these
joints each way and tested them to failure, I'm not sure you could measure
a
statiscally-meaningful difference between the two. Now, I haven't spent
all
night thinking about it, so if someone can make a persuasive argument to
the
contrary, I'm open. So with that said, offhand I'd go with the one you
find
easier to machine.

Very impressive, Todd ... and I appreciate your input. My gut feeling is
that the "easiest to machine", which is also the most precise in this case,
might mitigate any slight strength issues over a run of parts, particularly
if the joints are pinned as planned.

Right now I'm in the process of "jigging up" for a prototype and still have
a good deal of freedom in methodology.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

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Last update: 5/6/06