Jtomwoods

I am in what Bob would call the "thinking stage" before I begin a cutting stage...

I am making a headboard using 1 1/2 " thick oak for rails and stiles and 3/4 " oak pw for panels. The legs are 3" by 3".

I have two rails, one is 76" long by 3 1/2" wide and the other is 76" long by 7" wide (both are 1 1/2" thick). With their size, these guys are bulky and heavy. The two stiles are 14" long by 3 1/2" wide, relatively little guys in this scheme.

I need to plow 3/4" wide by 3/8" deep grooves on all of these for the pw panels. I have thought about table router, portable router, and table saw with dado blade.

If anyone has previous experience doing this type of work, which tool or tools would you use to make the grooves for the pw?

Thanks.