Advice needed - how would you approach this problem?

[chappardababbar]

Good afternoon ladies and gents, I was hoping I could ask for your input on a problem I have with a kitchen cabinet.

As you can see, the microwave is too tall for the opening. This means I need to cut away the portion of the cabinet that I have marked with a pencil, in situ.

What is the best way to do this, and still be left with a nice clean edge?

Here are my novice thoughts:

1. Scribe the line with a hammer and chisel all the way across the intended cut to prevent chipping
2. Screw in a straight piece of timber above the line, to act as a guide
3. Use a pull saw to cut across the guide. Use the OS400 to make cuts where the pull saw can't go, such as either corner
4. Sand down, flush to the timber guide
5. Remove the timber guide, fill the holes, sand and paint the whole thing
6. Put the microwave back in
7. Pat myself on the back
8. Bask in my wife's adulation

What do you think? There is quite a high risk of screwing this up it must be said. If the finished article isn't completely straight it's going to look terrible.

Any guidance is hugely appreciated.

 

[chappardababbar]

The other way I could do it, is to somehow use a TS55 against the cabinet with some sort of jig. That would give me a straight edge but I wouldn't be comfortable holding it above my head. Way too dangerous.

 

[Master Carpenter]

Remove microwave
Cut two pieces of material that will fit tight vertically in the opening and wedge them in, one near each side.
Slide clamps in track
Position track below the cut line, you will have to allow for blade kerf width.
Clamp track to temporary vertical boards.
Make cut.
Use pull saw to finish ends of cut and short vertical cuts
Finish raw edge
Reinstall microwave.
Invoice client.

 

[Lou in DE]

I would consider cutting out that rail (under the door - remove the door of course) - easier to make a straight short cut. Cut a new piece of the correct width to glue/pocket hole from the backside.

Just a thought.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Clamp a straight piece of wood along the cut line, use the Vecturo OS400 with a round blade to make the cut. Switch to a straight blade to clean up the corners. Easy as pie.  I really don't understand the difficult methods adviced above. Unnecessary.

 

[ChuckM]

Clamp a straight piece of wood along the cut line, use the Vecturo OS400 with a round blade to make the cut. Switch to a straight blade to clean up the corners. Easy as pie.  I really don't understand the difficult methods adviced above. Unnecessary.

Perhaps they missed the OS400 that the OP does have?

The Vecturo is the tool of choice for this fix, I agree, if one has it.

I would use it to cut the ends/corners first, just to give me a reference before I overcut. If the OP has not used the tool for some time, practice the cut on a scrap in a mock-up. Unless I have done a fix many times, I always try any new fix on a scrap in the same mock-up setting. It can be fatal if an untested fix goes astray.

Just in case a minor screw-up happens in the fix, engrave or carve something (strip, tag, etc.), paint and cover the blunder.

If this isn't a paint job but a furniture grade/hardwood fix, I would scribe a cutline, chisel a knife wall, and use the Vecturo to cut on the waste side of the line. Then chisel (1" or 1-1/2" wide or so) to the cutline to finish the job (clamp a backerboard on the back side if necessary). It is not easy for a power tool to match that kind of precision fix by hand.

 

[Roseland]

I presume the cupboard above has a floor.  How much below the underside of the floor do you want the cutout to be?

I might rough out most of the material with a Fein Multimaster/Vecturo, and then use a router with a copy bit to reference off the underside of the floor.

But I think I'd want more info before I committed to a solution.

Nice Miele microwave, BTW.

Andrew

 

[chappardababbar]

Gentlemen, I am indebted to all of you. Thank you for the tips and for responding so quickly. I think I just about pulled it off but the test will be the evenness of the gap when I paint it and put the microwave back in.

I clamped a guiderail to the opening and went across it with the TS. I overcut on one side as you can see (which I can easily fill) and on the otherside the wall got in the way of getting closer to the edge.

I finished cutting out the left side with the OS400 with a curved blade as suggested by Alex. I find the OS400 quite an unwieldy tool to use. It requires a deft touch and I don't quite have the hang of it. Even with a piece of wood to guide me, I couldn't get the OS to cut dead straight. I also had a problem with the difference between the blade thickness of the OS blade and the TS blade.

I've managed to tidy up the cuts with a chisel and then an RTS400, 200grit

 

[chappardababbar]

Clamp a straight piece of wood along the cut line, use the Vecturo OS400 with a round blade to make the cut. Switch to a straight blade to clean up the corners. Easy as pie.  I really don't understand the difficult methods adviced above. Unnecessary.

Perhaps they missed the OS400 that the OP does have?

The Vecturo is the tool of choice for this fix, I agree, if one has it.

I would use it to cut the ends/corners first, just to give me a reference before I overcut. If the OP has not used the tool for some time, practice the cut on a scrap in a mock-up. Unless I have done a fix many times, I always try any new fix on a scrap in the same mock-up setting. It can be fatal if an untested fix goes astray.

Just in case a minor screw-up happens in the fix, engrave or carve something (strip, tag, etc.), paint and cover the blunder.

If this isn't a paint job but a furniture grade/hardwood fix, I would scribe a cutline, chisel a knife wall, and use the Vecturo to cut on the waste side of the line. Then chisel (1" or 1-1/2" wide or so) to the cutline to finish the job (clamp a backerboard on the back side if necessary). It is not easy for a power tool to match that kind of precision fix by hand.

Thank you! I followed these steps. Boy....the OS400 is properly squirmy.

 

[RKA]

Well done!  Two tips for the next such encounter, move your guide to the good side of the kerf.  Then the difference in kerf doesn’t matter.  You can also run the TS saw backwards at a 1mm depth to score the paint, just be careful not to reference your start and stop points on the scoring cut or you’ll overcut when you adjust the blade depth.

 

[sancho57]

never mind. Im to late to this thread  [embarassed]

 

[chappardababbar]

Finished article. Not bad, not bad at all. Thanks again chaps. Wife is happy....I would estimate this is about a week's worth of being left alone.

 

[chappardababbar]

Well done!  Two tips for the next such encounter, move your guide to the good side of the kerf.  Then the difference in kerf doesn’t matter.  You can also run the TS saw backwards at a 1mm depth to score the paint, just be careful not to reference your start and stop points on the scoring cut or you’ll overcut when you adjust the blade depth.

Interesting, always afraid to run the TS backward in case it jumps. Never thought to use it for scoring. Thanks, noted.

 

[leakyroof]

Finished article. Not bad, not bad at all. Thanks again chaps. Wife is happy....I would estimate this is about a week's worth of being left alone.

  Looks Fantastic..... Good Luck on that 'being left alone' ... [wink]