cutting flooring under toe kick

[mike4244]

I need to cut thru about 3/8" of old vinyl tile and 1/4" underlayment . Can't use a toe kick saw as I have only 3" height . I have a total of 18'-0" or so to cut. Would a Dremel tool with a saw blade work, or maybe a multi-tool with some type of flush cutting blade ? I can remove the finished oak base which is 1/4" oak plywood. I also thought of using a skilsaw on an angle as a last resort. 
mike

[Phil Thien]

Can you rig up some sort of die grinder with a blade?

With extreme caution, of course.

[jteneyck]

I need to cut thru about 3/8" of old vinyl tile and 1/4" underlayment . Can't use a toe kick saw as I have only 3" height . I have a total of 18'-0" or so to cut. Would a Dremel tool with a saw blade work, or maybe a multi-tool with some type of flush cutting blade ? I can remove the finished oak base which is 1/4" oak plywood. I also thought of using a skilsaw on an angle as a last resort. 
mike

I didn't know about jamb saws when I made this contraption to cut the old 1/2" plywood flush with the toe kicks in my kitchen.  I first tried an oscillating multi-tool.  Totally ineffective with the two blades I tried; the teeth were far too small and were easily blinded.  So I made this contraption:  



This blade is 3", but they sell smaller ones, too.   The key is it has large carbide teeth so it can clear the chips without blinding and tolerate hitting a few nails/staples.  I ground the head of a 3/8" hex head bolt round until it fit into the arbor hole, and then carefully welded the two together.  The plywood disks control the depth of cut.  I did about 40 ft with it w/o any trouble.  Just keep a firm grip on the drill motor.  




John

[MstrCarpenter]

That "contraption" looks great! There's been so many times that I just needed a spinning blade. If you only have to cut 18' (and don't have a welder handy) you can get a few "inside pipe cutters" that plumber use. It's basically a 1-1/2" blade on the end of a 1/2" shaft. They're cheap enough to throw away when dull. Personally, I have a welder, and that looks like fun!

[doc1]

I did this very easily with a Japanese saw.

The handle looked like this one from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Mini-Doz...e+hand+saw

But the blade was double edged with teeth on both sides, fine and coarse.  It's a flush trim saw so that you can squeeze it in with the blade parallel to the toe kick, but the handle sticks out at an angle.  It took about 20 minutes to do a large bathroom through 3/4" plywood.  The blade was oval-shaped, which made it easier to use than one straight on the top of the blade and straight on the bottom.  You could rotate it as you moved along.  I thought that I bought it at Rockler or Amazon, but neither one now has the blade shape that I have.  There are no markings on it at all.  Sorry I can't be more informative.  It's a tough saw, not bothered by nails.  I use it all the time for all kinds of things--very handy and perfect for your need.  If I could figure out how to send a photo, I would do that.

Al

[ez-duzit]

That's a job for a Fein tool.

[Phil Thien]

I'd do what John did.

[doc1]

Like this one, but curved on top with fine teeth, and curved on the bottom with coarse teeth.

Al

[mike4244]

I didn't know about jamb saws when I made this contraption to cut the old 1/2" plywood flush with the toe kicks in my kitchen.  I first tried an oscillating multi-tool.  Totally ineffective with the two blades I tried; the teeth were far too small and were easily blinded.  So I made this contraption:  



This blade is 3", but they sell smaller ones, too.   The key is it has large carbide teeth so it can clear the chips without blinding and tolerate hitting a few nails/staples.  I ground the head of a 3/8" hex head bolt round until it fit into the arbor hole, and then carefully welded the two together.  The plywood disks control the depth of cut.  I did about 40 ft with it w/o any trouble.  Just keep a firm grip on the drill motor.  




John

John, that's one heck of a contraption. I like it , will do the same. I already have the saw blades and an arbor that I use for slitting metal on a milling machine. All I need to do is add the wood cylinder for depth. 
Thanks again, mike

[daddo]

Remove the handle (You can make a 90 degree handle if you like).  Put a blade on it.
    I found a blade at HF.