Carpentry and Woodworking - Please help me figure out the right tool to work on a balance beam!

My daughter is a budding gymnast and is dying for her own balance beam to practice on in our basement. I was able to get my hands on a very old practice beam that is basically a huge block of wood that measures 4 1/2" across the top by 7" high by 16' long.

The problem is that the beam needs to measure 4" across the top. The beams are supposed to taper off from the the top so that by 1/2" down on the sides, the width is 4 3/8". So basically, I just need to trim the sides of the top so that I can get size down to 4".

My question is this - would I be better off running a circular saw along the sides and just cutting off 1/4" off of each edge at about a 26 degree angle? Or, is there a router bit that I can get that will accomplish the same thing easier or better?

I'm not a very experienced wood worker and would appreciate hearing from anyone that has an opinion.

Thanks!
Moez

Drawknife or low-angle block plane - you don't have much material to remove

Watch the grain of the wood to avoid excessive removal

Thanks IBM,
I hadn't even considered hand tools..... I thought that I'd get an excuse to rev up some of my seldom-used power tools!

Thanks,
Moez

I would go with a router and a bevel bit.

I agree with Wayne. Running a router and a low angle chamfer router bit along each side would work well. Rockler has a 11.25 degree bit in their catalog that is 1" long that would work well, I would think. You wouldn't want a bit with more angle than that, or you'd be removing too much stock from the top. I'm sure you can locate a similar router bit if you find a woodworking store- they will have the best selection of bits.

Once you've routered it, then you'd likely want to ease the sharp edges with sandpaper or she'll cut her feet.