On Jan 16, 8:56*am, mcp6453 wrote:
The easiest way for me to get access to the space behind my bathroom vanity to
run some electrical wiring will be to cut a big hole in the sheetrock. It seems
that if I cut the vertical lines down the center line of the 2 x 4 studs on each
side, the panel will be much easier to reinstall. It's a no-brainer to cut a
hole in sheetrock with a sheetrock saw, but how can I cut just the 5/8" or so of
sheetrock that is against a stud?

A circular saw would work, but the sheetrock would probably destroy the blade. A
MultiMax tool might be a good idea, but I don't have one. The ideal solution in
my mind is a Rotozip, but I don't have one of those, either. While I do have a
router, it's quite large and would be hard to handle on a wall like that.

How you you professionals do this, or is there a better way?

I've done this for years with a jig saw. Simple as can be, just bring
the blade to its lowest point of travel (maximum cutting depth) and
mark off the cutting depth you want from the platen, then remove the
blade and break off the unwanted portion and grind the back of the
blade to a profile similar to a new blade. Reinsert blade and proceed
to cut drywall, plywood, whatever, to exact depths. When blade is
dull, save it for a pattern for another one, and mark it with a
Sharpie for the depth it cuts. For decent low priced jigsaws, check
out Harbor Freight, maybe eBay.
If your jigsaw has a dust blower you can follow a line quite well and
the cut out will fit back precisely in the hole anyway, so nearly
invisible repairs are possible.

Joe