Ikea flatpack, cutting to size

GreenTed

Hello, I'm trying to match Ikea furniture cupboard/bookcase units but need to reduce the depth of one cupboard unit to fit next to a door-way. I've measured very carefully and cut down some of the pieces, 7 of them are good to go, however for the remaining 5 I can only get so far along my line & then hit some sort of metal. I don't know what metal it is (it's not magnetic & is quite thick), I'm guessing it's for reinforcement (which is reassuring, perhaps Ikea furniture is sturdier than I thought). I have a mini circular (Worx) saw & have used the general purpose 85mm blade, for wood and metal, that came with it. I was so happy as I'd never used one before & for me this was a new accomplishment:j. However I can't find any strong metal cutting blades for it (at 85mm) & am not sure how to proceed. I'm wary of buying & trying a larger circular saw as (a)I have a weak left arm so don't want to try anything too bulky & (b)I value my fingers :eek:. The wood pieces are all marked up & partly cut. Has anyone else found this with flat-pack furniture before, know what metal it might be, & any ideas about how to get them properly cut? Thank you in hopeful anticipation, Mrs GreenTed.

wealdroam

Can you perhaps point us to the item on Ikea's website?

Perhaps a hacksaw will do the job?

GreenTed

Thank you Wealdroam, it's a discontinued item, Borgsjo, but I've found a link:-

http://www.ikea-en.decorstock.net/borgsjo-29903555-shelf-unit-doors-white

The lengths to through are quite long, over 2ft/6ocm , & I have 5 of them.

London50

Is this any good??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/85mm-x-10mm-x-24T-Metal-Cutting-Saw-Blade-/181797944384

GreenTed

Thank you, I don't know why I hadn't tried Ebay!! The teeth look very different to the one I was trying. Will give them a whirl.

GreenTed

Oh dear, pun not intended there, must be my subconscious chipping in.

WobblyDog

A hacksaw or padsaw like this might do the job:
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Hand+Tools/d10/Saws/sd70/Close+Quarter+Hacksaw/p17394

GreenTed

Well, a bit embarassing, it turned out not to contain metal at all, just that my saw blade had (very quickly imo) become a bit bent and kept sticking at the same point. I tried the metal-cutting blade but got lots of smoke & burnt wood; I'll keep it handy for when I know I'm definitely cutting metal. A new blade sorted the problem, all done, thank you very much for your comments & help! :T

macman

It's probably laminated chipboard or MDF, so your wood cutting blade was rapidly overheating on glue and sawdust.