re: Brave or Stupid?

An exercise like that is never a waste of time, it’s a learning tool. FWIW, the reason I doubted that design is because I tried a similar joint in the past. What I discovered was the long fibers of the stock were needed to carry the load, and that is why saddle joints can be so effective. The design you came up with is a good design for non-load bearing application. Keep in mind end grain has virtually no strength whatsoever regardless of how much glue you use (trust me, I’ve tried way too many times to disprove that!). Notice how the wood split along the grain…that’s the strength you have to work with.

Thanks for the effort!