Cutting wood with water

[Juergen Hannappel]

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.

[Charles Spitzer]

lots of people do this.

has a picture of one

[Mark]

[Carl Olsen]

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:

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

(my web site)

- Carl

Hello,