Carpentry and Woodworking - Woodworking - Specific Mortise

I am repairing a bed frame, I need to make a mortise 2" deep, 5" long and 1/8" wide in the end of the rail for the bracket that attaches the rails to the headboard and footboard. (note: the width is the constraining dimension)

I thought about plunge cutting it with my hand held circ. saw but I am afraid I can't do it square. I also thought about using my table saw but the peice is 88" long, I could never hold it vertical.

Any ideas?

make a jig and use a router

A router would be my first choice but my spiral bit wouldn't reach 2". I would probably start with a router and finish the bottom of the mortise with a drill bit.

I think I understand what you are trying to do. If so, I would do this on the table saw using a tenoning jig. The 1/8inch width sort of makes this a problem for a router. Of course, you will need the ceiling height or move the saw outside.

If you don't have a tenoning jig, this may be the time to get one. I've used mine for quite a few things other than tenons. It's one of best bargains in my shop.

On the other hand, I just noticed your reference to "plunge cutting." I'm not sure that a tenoning jig would accommodate plunging without experimenting with it a bit.

Good luck,

Make a jig to accomodate your circular such that the jig can be clamped to the workpiece. Clamp everything securely so that you can operate the circular saw with both hands. Try a cut on scrap stock first. Good luck with your project.

I would think a saw blade wouldn't sufficiently clean out the corners of the mortise. What if you used a plunge router, made the mortise 1/4" wide, then used a piece of 1/8" steel as a shim (or simply wedge and glue a piece of wood back in) to reduce the hole size and tighten it up?

You know, you folks make things far more complicated than they have to be... talking about jigs and power tools like this...
This mortise only has to be an eighth of an inch wide? That's oddly narrow, but the best way to do this is just use a drill and bit. Drill a bunch of 1/8 holes in the line you want the mortise, mark the bit to stop out at the 2 inch. And after you've drilled, clean the mortise up with a narrow chisel or long knife.

A mortise this tiny should take no more than 8 minutes and there's no worry of power tools... geez... :|