I'm doing a 5300 hack that'll probably lose the battery contents, so I cut mine off in a way that I'd still have full support across the palm rest. Bottom and side slots were cut to the joint and that was cut away to free the section, leaving the bit by the trackball intact.

I used a plexi scribe with a try square to get things started and the X-Acto Razor Saw to do the bulk of the cutting and then prized it apart using a heavier plexi scribe. The cells I ripped out with the pliers. [}] ]'>

I nicked the plastic cover on a few cells, but all metal housings are intact, the nasties remain contained and the cells are ready for recycling tomorrow.