shooter lane groove cut

This step was actually a little nerve wracking.  I was worried about not cutting straight, I was worried about getting depths wrong, but I went about it methodical.  I taped and clamped a ruler as a guide (distance from where the router tip needed to be to the flat edge), then started with a very shallow cut, going as far as I needed to make a cut.

Then little by little, I dropped the cutter and went along the same cut, stopping an inch from where I cut last.  Eventually I ended up with a staggered cut you see 



Once I got the steps, I went back with a chisel to take off chunks.  I found that scraping it perpendicular was safer that attacking at an angle which tended to take deeper chunks than I wanted to.  Then in I went with 100 grit sandpaper to smooth it out.  It's not quite as perfect as a CNC would do, but I must say it's not bad at all!