hi forest. i played around with different ways and bounced it off of richard and others. the way i did it was to put masking tape on the laminate. then i made a cutting guide out of 1" aluminum sq tubing. i clamped it to the wall and used it as a cutting guide. then i used a vibrating multifunction tool with the round blade on it. i tried to hold it square against the tubing and cut slow and steady. with my refridgerator area the bathroom wall is on the left side and it comes out farther than the fridge, so there was only about 2" from the cutting edge to the wall that jutted out, making it impossible to use any other cutting tool.
i did the same on both sides and the top.
finishing the corners with a japanese flush handsaw.
then i used a power sander to sand the edges smooth and flat.
i put black edge banding on the edges.
i also had to cut the drawer down and cut the face down 4 inches. i used a 80 tooth new blade on my table saw.
i had no chipping anywhere i cut, either by hand or with the table saw.
i kept small pieces of the cutout wood to experiment with cutting and drilling.
i drilled five 1" holes above the fridge. if you look extremely close, you can see some little chips but you dont notice them at all.
it is just about being careful, deliberate and remembering you can only usually cut once. so as i cut the drawer down and fit it with the right gaps, i cut a little big and trimmed it down to be an exact fit. then i used white edge banding on the bottom. (you will not see the bottom and the white is not noticeable.
i also went to a custom car paint shop and had them custom match high end paint to the color of the laminate. i can use that to cover any cracks or paint vent covers i ordered if i choose to. it is almost a perfect match.
tom
|