Waterjet cutting service and operator here.

waterjetnj

Member
Hello all,

I am a waterjet operator on an OMAX 60" x 120" bed, max. 60kpsi waterjet for over a decade now and have been cutting knife blades and handles for a few knifemakers over the past few years. I wanted to expand my reach and service to more knifemakers in the community so I am here to do that. I am based in Hazlet, NJ but can ship anywhere you need.

There is no job too big or small for me and my lead times are typically 1-2 weeks depending on the size of the order. However I do not stock or supply any knifemaking materials. I am particularly detailed and take great pride in my work.

I typically run my machine at 45kpsi and change tooling often to keep tight tolerances. I suggest that you under-size all holes to play it safest. I cut mostly at quality 2 because I find it's the best middle ground for quality and pricing. However you can detail if or where you want different quality (1 lowest to 5 highest) cuts. I want to work with you to best fit your needs.

I can convert from most file formats including DWG and PDF. I typically do not charge a set-up or design time as this is calculated into my overall hourly rate. Again, I take pride in my work and stand by the quality of my cuts and lead time on my jobs. I am interested in building a mutual, trusted relationship with new clients and knifemakers.

Please visit me at waterjetnj.com, email jason@waterjetnj.com, direct message on Instagram @waterjetnj or call 732-739-9622 if you have any questions and I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.
 
Andrew,

For other work outside of knifemaking I do cut phenolic and have cut G10 once or twice in the past. But it's best to never pierce these materials as they tend to "delaminate" when they are being pierce. I usually start from the outside of the material and cut into it to avoid having to pierce it. Sometimes I will also machine drill pilot holes and start the cut inside of these holes. I really do not prefer to cut these materials because it's upsetting when they get destroyed, lol. But it is possible from my experience.

I hope that more than answers your question.
 
Andrew,

For other work outside of knifemaking I do cut phenolic and have cut G10 once or twice in the past. But it's best to never pierce these materials as they tend to "delaminate" when they are being pierce. I usually start from the outside of the material and cut into it to avoid having to pierce it. Sometimes I will also machine drill pilot holes and start the cut inside of these holes. I really do not prefer to cut these materials because it's upsetting when they get destroyed, lol. But it is possible from my experience.

I hope that more than answers your question.

I ask because I have a non-knife related project that would use 1/8" g10. I've asked another waterjetter or two about it, but they've declined based on the difficulty. That said, they wouldn't require any pierce cuts, though they would benefit from a relatively smooth finish.
 
Andrew,

0.125" is not that thick so you should be able to achieve a pretty smooth finish on this, especially if you upped the quality to 5 (slowest, smoothest cut) but you could probably even get away with quality 2 or 3 depending on your desired outcome particularly because it's not that thick at all so the kerf will be less visible regardless.

I would be willing to take a look at your project if you want to segue this conversation over to email; jason@waterjetnj.com.

Thanks.
 
I see on your estimate sheet that you can work from a PDF? Can you explain how this works? And the best way to create the file? I use Rhino 3D and Spaceclaim for CAD design. I had a lot of issues using Rhino to export DXF. for waterjet. kept coming out as line segments instead of clean smooth curves. I will be water jetting more of these in the future (knife blanks) but would like to know the best way to not do a bunch of iterations with the waterjet company (you or anyone). Since I do some post waterjet machining I do need fairly decent consistency for the water jet from batch to batch.
 
I see on your estimate sheet that you can work from a PDF? Can you explain how this works? And the best way to create the file? I use Rhino 3D and Spaceclaim for CAD design. I had a lot of issues using Rhino to export DXF. for waterjet. kept coming out as line segments instead of clean smooth curves. I will be water jetting more of these in the future (knife blanks) but would like to know the best way to not do a bunch of iterations with the waterjet company (you or anyone). Since I do some post waterjet machining I do need fairly decent consistency for the water jet from batch to batch.
Ted,

Great question. I can work from a PDF and it typically imports very nice and proportioned in the OMAX waterjet software. Basically the software allows you to import from PDF and some other formats like DWG. If you contact me for an estimate and I work from one of your PDF files I have no issue with converting some PDF files into DXF files for you and returning the files. Just don't take advantage and send me 100 PDF files, lol. :)

I am unsure of the best way to go about getting clean DXF files on your end however. I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with that.

Thanks.
 
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Good to see a forum member offering WJ service. If I send you a handmade blank, can you scan it and convert it to a usable file? Also, what is the smallest size (length & width) sheet/plate that you can work with?
 
Good to see a forum member offering WJ service. If I send you a handmade blank, can you scan it and convert it to a usable file? Also, what is the smallest size (length & width) sheet/plate that you can work with?

Darrin,

Thank you. I can scan a handmade blank and convert into a digital file, no problems. Send me an email jason@waterjetnj.com if you want to talk further about this.

I could work with a very small plate (1.5" x 6") however I just suggest that you leave at minimum 0.0625" between each part and at least 0.100" all around the plate so there is some "meat" to hold on to and allow the waterjet to cut inside of the material.

For example if you sent me a 1.5" x 6" plate and had 3 parts on it, I would not suggest making the cuts inside the sheet exceed than 1.300" and 5.800" at their maximum points. And the spacing between those 3 parts should have at minimum 0.0625" between them.

Check out the attached image as an illustration of what I am saying.
layout-spacing-example.PNG

In the illustration example there is 0.100" spacing between the blue (material) and green (cutting area) rectangles as well as 0.0625" spacing between the 3 purple parts (that will be cut out). Of course it's not impossible to watejet cut if you exceed the green "desired maximum cutting area" nor if the parts do not have 0.0625" spacing. But more spacing is better and you should not really go to much smaller than what I have stated.

In my opinion this greatly reduces the chance of messing up pieces by having the material move on the operator because of inadequate ability to hold the material well and really makes the waterjet operator's life (mine) much easier, lol. :)

Thanks for the great question.
 
Just to follow up to Darrin's great question "What is the smallest size (length & width) sheet/plate that you can work with?" a jig can always be made to get the most out of smaller plates of material however what I illustrated is best case scenario and in general good advice to avoid some issues you might run into when cutting on a waterjet. And also just my opinion from my experience.
 
Ted,

Great question. I can work from a PDF and it typically imports very nice and proportioned in the OMAX waterjet software. Basically the software allows you to import from PDF and some other formats like DWG. If you contact me for an estimate and I work from one of your PDF files I have no issue with converting some PDF files into DXF files for you and returning the files. Just don't take advantage and send me 100 PDF files, lol. :)

I am unsure of the best way to go about getting clean DXF files on your end however. I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble with that.

Thanks.
Thanks jay,

I just realized that I can import rhino to spaceclaim and output (maybe) a cleaner file. I'll do that in the next day or so (jammin' to get out work) Also, do you have a nesting program or do you want us to draw the parts based on whatever size sheet we send you?

The reason I was asking about PDF. is I didn't know it had CAD capabilities? Or do you have to draw over the top of the PDF.?
 
Thanks jay,

I just realized that I can import rhino to spaceclaim and output (maybe) a cleaner file. I'll do that in the next day or so (jammin' to get out work) Also, do you have a nesting program or do you want us to draw the parts based on whatever size sheet we send you?

The reason I was asking about PDF. is I didn't know it had CAD capabilities? Or do you have to draw over the top of the PDF.?

Ted,

Glad to hear you figured something out to create a (hopefully) better DXF file.

As for the PDF files, they import pretty perfectly in the OMAX CAD software. I guess because PDF have vector capabilities it is not a problem for the OMAX software to do a good job importing. I have imported many, many PDF files without any problems so I cannot see how a knife PDF drawing would be any different. Of course DXF is preferred but I can work from PDF as well.

As for nesting, I can easily nest a part as much as I want especially if you are cutting up the same part(s) in quantities on the same sheet. If you want to cut up different parts on one sheet of material it's probably best and most convenient that you position the parts yourself on the sheet keeping in mind the spacing between parts as well as the edge of the material like I illustrated in the above posts.

Eventually I might make a short PDF guide and update my website to cater to knifemakers and the community so I can best serve everyone's needs more efficient. But I appreciate the questions.

Thank you.
 
Darrin,

Thank you. I can scan a handmade blank and convert into a digital file, no problems. Send me an email jason@waterjetnj.com if you want to talk further about this.

I could work with a very small plate (1.5" x 6") however I just suggest that you leave at minimum 0.0625" between each part and at least 0.100" all around the plate so there is some "meat" to hold on to and allow the waterjet to cut inside of the material.

For example if you sent me a 1.5" x 6" plate and had 3 parts on it, I would not suggest making the cuts inside the sheet exceed than 1.300" and 5.800" at their maximum points. And the spacing between those 3 parts should have at minimum 0.0625" between them.

Check out the attached image as an illustration of what I am saying.
View attachment 63526

In the illustration example there is 0.100" spacing between the blue (material) and green (cutting area) rectangles as well as 0.0625" spacing between the 3 purple parts (that will be cut out). Of course it's not impossible to watejet cut if you exceed the green "desired maximum cutting area" nor if the parts do not have 0.0625" spacing. But more spacing is better and you should not really go to much smaller than what I have stated.

In my opinion this greatly reduces the chance of messing up pieces by having the material move on the operator because of inadequate ability to hold the material well and really makes the waterjet operator's life (mine) much easier, lol. :)

Thanks for the great question.

Oh that's way smaller than I'd ever send. Once you get the file made I would either have a sheet/plate sent to you and tell you to nest them to your best ability. Or say I wanted 20 of that particular file, I would ask you for an estimate on the minimum size plate that would provide that yield. I look forward to working with you. Thanks
 
Oh that's way smaller than I'd ever send. Once you get the file made I would either have a sheet/plate sent to you and tell you to nest them to your best ability. Or say I wanted 20 of that particular file, I would ask you for an estimate on the minimum size plate that would provide that yield. I look forward to working with you. Thanks

Darrin,

Yes, I would be able to nest them to get the most out of the material. And you can do just as you described, give me a quantity and I could tell you what size sheet it would take to get them all cut up. Thanks again Darrin, I look forward to hearing from you.
 
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