I signed on to make a guitar stand for my father in law for his birthday and I need a bit of advice on the best way to join up a couple pieces of it. The inspiration of the piece was taken from this stand. I have the neck and the base completed and I think I have a pretty solid idea of how to get them put together, but I thought I would see if someone has an easier/better method.

Now let's see if I can explain my thoughts in a clear manner:

• I want the stand and base to be detachable for transport/storage.

• I will need to make through cuts on both the stand (vertical piece) and base (horizontal piece) in equal lengths that are half (or less) the depth of the stand from front to back. The width of the cuts on both pieces will be dependent on the next few options.

• Option 1: Cut dados into both pieces where they overlap.

• Option 2: Cut rabbets into both pieces, along the edge of the through cuts.

• Option 3: Maybe some complicated hybrid of the two that I can't fully wrap my brain around.

This is the first time attempting any type of joinery like this. Because of all the curves already cut into both pieces, using the table saw is pretty much out of the question. So I'm left with using chisels or a router for this right? I don't have any fancy planes (which seem very appealing right now).

Am I overlooking any other options? Am I over thinking this? Would the through cuts be enough? How would you go about making this happen? Let me feed on your collective knowledge /r/woodworking.