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Customer Story
January 31, 2023
Desktop Waterjet is the Right Machine for Cutting Glass
By Team WAZER

Over 20 years ago, Steve and Rebecca Brydge began their creative journey with glass, having been introduced to waterjets by Rebecca’s father, who owned a tool and die shop.  Finding a machine that could “cut glass like butter” seemed like the perfect start to a cutting service that grew to also include cutting flooring, metals, rubber and plastic for a wide variety of industries including aerospace.

In 2015 the Brydge’s returned to their glass cutting roots and opened BrydgeWorks Glass Studio featuring waterjet cut kits and production stained glass products, as well as offering workshops and classes utilizing precut glass pieces.  Using the large format waterjets worked well for this endeavor but had a few drawbacks for cutting small pieces, such as material fixturing and high pressure piercing leading to material loss and repeat cutting.  The operator had to constantly monitor while cutting to ensure that cut pieces did not get in the way of the cutting head and cause cutting errors.

waterjet cut glass

The Brydge’s decided it was time to semi-retire and sold the large waterjets, closing the cutting service.  In order to continue with the success of the glass studio they were in need of a new cutting solution, the WAZER.  The WAZER is just the right machine for a glass studio to utilize daily.  The studio waterjet operator soon discovered the benefits in easy fixturing, low-pressure piercing, and no need to “hover” over the machine while cutting.  The studio currently has 50 to 60 precut kits plus other WAZER-cut items it sells in their studio, on Etsy, in local vineyards, farm markets and other vendor events.  Rebecca and her crew teach stained and fused glass classes to enthusiastic students throughout the year reaching hundreds of people.

waterjet cut glass

“You can trust the WAZER when working with glass.”

Steve summed up his positive experience quite simply, “you can trust the WAZER when working with glass.”  The WAZER cutting bed is specifically designed to hold down sheet materials like glass and the lower water pressure can pierce the glass without breaking it.  Without the constant monitoring, the crew can run the WAZER while doing other projects that keep production moving along.  The WAZER was the right solution for BrydgeWorks Glass Studio and runs several days a week to keep up with demands.