cutting circuit board after components are already soldered

[frogman]

Hello,
The title pretty much says it all. If I have soldered a bunch of the components (resistor, caps, jumpers) onto a vero board build. I want to know if cutting a few rows off of the board harm the integrity of the solder joints? The spare space was left for a reverb brick that covers up about a 15x15 area of holes. I didnt think ahead about how the brick only needs maybe a few extra rows to stay upright. When I cut I use a box cutter, go over the board a few times and stick it in a vice and snap it along the line I cut. Seems like it could twist and bend the board and potentially be rough on the joints. Just wondering if anyone has experience with this. Thanks.

[duck_arse]

score and snap board trimming, I have no experience. nibbling tool trimming and hand file trimming and hacksaw trimming and aviation snips trimming, yes, experience. you just gots to do the cuts, then check/clean up any mess.

a really good solder joint will laugh-off the rough treatment.

[anotherjim]

I have an Xacto razor saw for that kind of thing (if it's a corner to take out). If it's a straight across cut, I score thru the row with a knife and snap off. Then dress level with a file. You should be able to do that without damage to the components, but there is a risk of that.

[R.G.]

Jeweler's saw. They're about $10. After you have one of these for a while, you'll wonder how you got along without it.

[hellwood]

get a cut-off wheel for your dremel, and a pair of goggles.

[petemoore]

 I used a small drill to remove some of the material along the score line, widening the existing holes, most boards snap pretty easily, cleanly.
Done from the bottom, it should be pretty easy to stop the required copper strips from pulling loose when the phelonic snaps.
Just check that no connections get broken and be careful to not bend the circuited part of the board much.

[sshrugg]

In this situation, I use a dremel tool filing bit to grind down the PCB, so I can avoid slipping and harming the copper traces.