Cutting wood with water

Tue, Dec 16, 2003, 5:40pm (EST+6) [email protected]
(Juergen=A0Hannappel) asks:
has anyone seen/heard of wood being cut with a high speed water jet?
This technique might allow some very interesting cuts with good
precision.

Yes. Great precision. Downside, expensive. I'm not sure just how
large they are, been awhile since I read up on them. As I recall,
they're CNC. What a great toy one of those would be.

I don't have time to look now, but there's info on the web. If no
one posts any, I'll try to look later.

JOAT
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might
as well dance.
- Unknown

Life just ain't life without good music. - JOAT
Web Page Update 16 Dec 2003.
Some tunes I like.
http://community-2.webtv.net/Jakofalltrades/SOMETUNESILIKE/

We used to have one where I work which cut steel, even hardened Rc 62
tool steel. It cost around $250,000 new, with all the toys. I'm sure
the woodworking versions are smaller and less expensive. Accuracy
fluctuates with the material type and thickness. We could hold .005"

Juergen Hannappel wrote:
> Hello,
> has anyone seen/heard of wood being cut with a high speed water jet?
> This technique might allow some very interesting cuts with good
> precision.

lots of people do this.

http://www.hydrocutwaterjet.com/photo.htm has a picture of one


"Juergen Hannappel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hello,
> has anyone seen/heard of wood being cut with a high speed water jet?
> This technique might allow some very interesting cuts with good
> precision.
> --
> Dr. Juergen Hannappel http://lisa2.physik.uni-bonn.de/~hannappe
> mailto:[email protected] Phone: +49 228 73 2447 FAX ... 7869
> Physikalisches Institut der Uni Bonn Nussallee 12, D-53115 Bonn, Germany
> CERN: Phone: +412276 76461 Fax: ..77930 Bat. 892-R-A13 CH-1211 Geneve 23

Wood cuts quite nicely with a waterjet, but the machines are typically
too expensive to justify purchasing only for cutting wood. However,
if you do a mix of wood and other materials (plastic, metal, stone, or
whatever), then using it for wood work can be justified. For some
pictures see:

http://www.omax.com/wood.html

Typically, the wood would be cut with an abrasive, but if the wood is
exceptionally soft or thin, then it may be cut with water-only, to
save some costs.

New Machines cost from $80,000 to $250,000. The price is a function
of table size, accuracy, pumping power, and accessories.

For more info on waterjet cutting in general, visit
http://www.waterjets.org, (my web site)

- Carl
http://www.waterjets.org


> Hello,
> has anyone seen/heard of wood being cut with a high speed water jet?
> This technique might allow some very interesting cuts with good
> precision.