Water Jet Cutting and Glass Work

[Kelly Thorson]

I had some steel letters cut for a town sign I'm doing and yesterday we went to pick them up. The young farm couple purchased a 8' x12' waterjet table a few months ago and are just learning the ropes. We got to talking about the possibilities with the machine and glass and it boggled my mind.
I googled and couldn't find much in terms of images and was just wondering if anyone here has or knows of any artistic or architectural glass references that show examples of pieces utilizing water jet cutting?

[Danny Baronian]

Hi Kelly,

Haven''t seen many examples of glass cut recently, but have seen it used in commercial work for years. Of the half dozen shops in the area that provide water jet cutting, they cut everything from carpet to 2" thick stainless steel, but would depend on the size of the pump working the water jet. The cuts are clean and as precise as the vector art provided.

This image was the first reversed gold/glass I'd ever done. Not knowing how it would turn out, I ordered two pieces in the event I messed one up, or one was damaged in shipment to Israel. The glass measures 1/2" t, 7" w 10" h.

The mixture used for glass is water and garnet that is pumped through a nozzel, so the edge has the appearance of being sandblasted with 200 grit sand.

[Kelly Thorson]

Thanks Danny,
On your sample were the lizard and the other carved areas done by the waterjet as well? I understand that by increasing the speed you can carve part way through, but I'm not sure how well that works on glass.

This image from How Stuff Works shows a brass inlay in glass. The potential outcome incorporating some of the ornate vectors from Mike Jackson, Gary Godby, Dave Smith, David Butler type collections is endless. I was surprised I couldn't find any examples of similar work, when I went looking?

[vance galliher]

Hi Kelly,
I have used waterjet cutting for many glass projects as well as other materials. As far as I'm concerned it's far better than CNC for "through" cuts. As for "stop" cuts, I don't think that's possible with waterjet cutting (?)...........CNC is best for that

[Danny Baronian]

After the glass was cut, a mask was applied for the Chameleon, the lines at the bottom, then sand carved.

While speed may be adjusted to produce different effects, I've never seen water jet used for anything but through cuts.

One thing it will not cut is tempered glass.