I have a melamine on tempered hardboard panel which is stuck to drywall with an adhesive.
A section of the panel has been torn off, leaving a ragged and uneven edge.
How do I cut the edge so I install a new section which will butt against the cut edge of the panel on the wall without a noticeable gap? (I don't have a circular-saw or a jigsaw).
I have a melamine-on-tempered-hardboard panel which is stuck to drywall with an adhesive.
A section of the panel has been torn off. How do I cut the ragged, uneven edge of the section that is still on the wall so I can install a new section without a noticeable gap? (I don't have a circular-saw or a jigsaw)..
You will probably have to replace the dry wall behind what ever you have stuck to it. Use a dry wall saw to cut out the section. Dry wall is cheap and so is the dry wall hand saw.
If your time is worth anything, consider buying a very inexpensive circular saw with a good panel blade. It'll make short work of your problem and if you're like most homeowner's, the saw will last you and be available forever.
A circular saw or jigsaw won't get you near enough of a straight line to conform to your unnoticeable requirement. Being tool constricted, you can use a razor knife with repeated strokes to cut the offending piece so you can remove it. At that point, all I can suggest is to use a template to outline a perfect 90° rectangular section and cut that out. Then use a reverse sized interior template to cut the melamine square for replacement. If you have it, the replacement melamine piece can be perfectly edged by a router bit using a roller bearing riding on a straight edge.
Understand though, no matter how careful you are and how much you work on the seam between the two, you're always going to be able to see that seam with a close inspection.
Woah! there..... I don't know where this little project is located but it sounds like the OP is describing a situation that may involve a kitchen or bathroom. Typically melamine on tempered hardboard is used in one of those locations as it is pretty much water proof and cleans easily. If that is indeed fact you don't want to have a home owner learning to use a circle saw cutting into walls that might have gas lines, water lines or electrical wires that may be damaged.
Barker Board, by the sounds of it. If the saw is set to 1/4" depth, he should be okay. Only a TCG blade stands a chance of minimizing chips. That, and a straight-edge...probably needs to be screwed to the wall. Wear goggles, in case you hit a screw on the wall-board behind the Barker Board.
Personally I'd remove the remainder of the panel and replace the whole thing.
I stayed away from explaining how to do it, though I agree that any circular saw with a depth adjustment (that includes about all) would be a LOT safer than a jigsaw, and produce better results. IMHO, assuming that you're right about the 1/4" melamine coated paneling, I'd make a shooting board and use that to prevent chip out.
To do that, get a piece of 5/8" or 3/4" particle board or plywood (even 1/4" will do for short pieces) about 3' to 4' long. The length should obviously be longer than your damaged section. The width of the shooting board would be about 12" or so: it's not critical, but has to be a few inches wider than the base of your saw.
On the face of the board, a few inches in from the edge, mark the straightest line you can possibly make for the length of the board. Then, glue a strip of wood to the mark. The ideal strip would be about 1/4" tall by an inch or so wide. It must be perfectly straight.
Then, simply place the base of the saw against the strip of wood, lower the blade to exceed the depth of the shooting board's material and cut off the excess. What you'll have is a straight edge that's a perfect fit between the inside edge of your saw blade and the outside base of the saw's shoe. You'll find this to be one of the handiest jigs you ever made.
To use it, you clamp the board to the workpiece on the outside of the straight strip. For instance, if you're cutting off the bottom of a door, clamp the shooting board to the door so that the cut edge is aligned with your marks. Then, when the saw cuts off the door, particle board, paneling etc., there will be no chipout at all AND you won't have to make additional measurements or calculations, since the cut edge of the shooting board lies straight on the mark.
My shop runs on shooting boards. Fast, practically foolproof.
Yabbut.... drywall/construction adhesive, contact cement, even... yikes... that's a can of worms. We need more info. *S*
On another note, I don't think I've ever really understood what a shooting board is. What I believe is that it's for trimming to a sharp, definable point. Would that be considered correct?
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