Have You Tried Waterjet Cutting Glass?

Waterjet equipment directs a high-pressure jet of water and abrasive to cut materials such as glass. This process offers a cost-effective solution to repetitive and high-volume production of small or complicated shapes.

Having your glass cut by waterjet can be an ideal way to get bases for Christmas ornaments or other custom shapes that would be very difficult and time-consuming, if not impossible, to cut on your own, even with a ring saw. If you do a lot of holiday pieces or need things for a class, having multiple, ready-to-work-on base shapes can really save you time and effort. Also, ring saws wear out and can be expensive to replace, so that is something to consider along with having most of the hard work done for you.

You provide the waterjet company with the design (in an electronic format like a pdf) as well as the glass you wish to use. Designs can be symmetrical or asymmetrical and can be flipped to make a mirror image. There are several computer programs that will help you design a whole sheet (see Carlyne Lynch’s example below) or you can do it as a “one-off”. Due to the precise nature of waterjet cutting, you can put your designs very close together to maximize the use of the glass. You can also ask them to drill holes.

There are a variety of waterjet companies in Oregon and Washington that provide glass cutting services (we’re working on a list).  The cost and time it takes will vary. You are charged basically for production TIME. When they set up your designs and make up the whole sheet layout for you, that is time spent. More intricate cutting work takes more time so it costs more. If you have very smooth areas they obviously cut more quickly than detailed zig zag cuts. Your designs should also not go into the raw ripple edge of glass. Bullseye’s Tekta works especially well if you need a smoother more consistent surface but you can always fire regular glass just enough to smooth the surface if that is needed.

At the Portland Guild picnic Carlyne showed off her first set of ornaments. She fired to 1350 and thinks if she held longer at that temperature they would have fused better and still held their shape. 

Guild member Carlyne Lynch has worked with Portland Waterjet and created seven designs, with 58 pieces possible from a single 24”x24” piece of Tetka. The shapes can be made into ornaments, but they are also great suncatchers and have many uses. The designs are a heart, star, circle, stocking and three hard-to cut-items. They have been designed with holes and rounded ends to make them less brittle. Guild members can contact Carlyne if you would like the design to use at your local waterjet service.

Portland Waterjet already has this design and they will cut the sheet for $107, but you must purchase the glass separately. They can pick up your (paid for) piece of glass at the nearby Portland Bullseye location to save you a trip! Or you can deliver your own glass to them. If you want to try it call them at 202-476-9939 and ask for Niko. Let him know if you have glass waiting at Bullseye and if you are using Carlyne Lynch’s ornament design for the PNW Glass Guild or your own design.

Here are some examples of waterjet cut shapes that members have created:

Greta Schneider uses this cat shape a lot. She decided to use the 24 x 24 tekta and do two sizes of cats. Because it seems much more efficient and safe to use smoother rather than very jagged lines, she smoothed out the cat’s outline except between the tail and body. With a grinder, she can easily add the small edge cuts around the outside to make the fur look more realistic and also give each one some uniqueness. She used white glass for these in order to enamel them. For a more 3D effect she can add cheeks, eyes and/or paws.

Mitzi Kugler asked Portland Waterjet to make a variety of different shapes, as you can see in the photos. The elk, bear and wolves are done partly in metallic glass, which will compliment the metal frames she makes herself, plus some pretty glass trees that could be used in a variety of ways.