Thanks again for the info Nick! I hope you didn't mind my jumping in and trying to explain the 3-4-5 triangle thing to Brad. I've received so much help here already with my questions, I saw this as an opportunity to give back and help someone else with something I do understand. I meant no offense and hope none was taken.

You wrote...
"Not having all the fancy tools that Jerry has , Like the festool .. You can take a measurement from where you want the cut and screw some straight plywood down the width of your circular saw to use as a track to run the saw .. use a 60 to 80 tooth blade .. then with a very sharp chisel clean the edges .. "
...Did you mean something like this?



If so, I may need a "festool" or something other than a circular saw to make this cut with the toe rail in place because of the limited space between the proposed cut and the near edge of the spindles. I generally prefer my worm-drive saw over the circular saw as it's easier for me to see the cut. The blade on my worm drive is about 1-5/8" away from the left edge of the saw's shoe plate; I don't think that distance on the circular saw is much less if at all. Any additional ideas and comments are welcome.

Don't mind you jumping in at all ZT .. That is what these forums are all about .. I explain things better verbally then with text .. You can try renting a toe kick saw .. or score the area with a utility knife a few times and use a chisel nice and easy .. I'm sure other members on here might have a different take on it for you ..

Thanks again Nick for your replies and suggestions!
ZT