[Q] Cleaning up a coping saw cut-out

[Fromey]

I have a piece of wood about 0.5" thick, and 3" x 5". I want to cut out a long thin rectangle within it and then clean up the inside cuts until they are nice and straight and square. I suspect the only way to do this is to initially cut as carefully as possible, then clean up with a rasp then file then sand paper. However, just in case, are there any other tricks/tools for this type of job? P.S. I don't have access to a scroll saw nor room to house one in my shed.

Thanks in advance, as always.

 

[MARK.B.]

Do you have a router or know anyone with one?

 

[johnwc812]

Hi,
I find with a task like that: plane two, 1" thick strips of hardwood and accurately clamp to both sides of one edge of the slot.
I would then use a sharp chisel in a slicing action. But this method would also work with rasp and file.
The strips help to keep the slot straight and square.
Cheers John

 

[Fromey]

Thanks for both suggestions. The purist in my wants to go John's way, but I also want to get this done asap (Xmas present for my daughter) so will try the router way (I was just about to clean up and sell my router, this can be it's last hoorah).

 

[AndyT]

I'd treat it as a very shallow through mortice. Depending on how wide it is, you could treat it just like a mortice using a chisel of matching width; or else you could drill / saw out an opening and pare out to your lines.
It's a very small piece to use a router on - you'd need to overlay or surround it with something bigger to give you something to bear against. And if you don't like using a router any way, chiselling is the way to go.

 

[Fromey]

Great minds think alike Andy. I was literally lying next to my daughter's bed, waiting for her to fall asleep (fat chance!) and dreaming about how to approach this. A series of through mortices is exactly what I've decided on. Just need to plan it out and mark it up accurately on both sides so I don't get blow out.