Can Plastic Cut Wood?

Thanks to Henson Shaving for sponsoring this video! Head to hensonshaving.... and use code WATERJET for 100 free blades with your purchase.
I made an invisible saw blade to see if it can cut through wood! Maybe the world will be a safer place with this invention. We tried plastic wrap, glass, and plexiglass to see which transparent material works best.
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[@Legitster]

There's finally a maker channel that makes me feel like a genius.

[@notthatbad42]

relatable

[@MattIsTheCat]

William Osman may have a similar effect.

[@MadScientist267]

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

[@dogsarebest7107]

@@MattIsTheCat You think, but the shit he actually makes is top tier. So it kind of fucks with you because the entire video you're like 'hah, how dumb!' but then at the end it somehow fucking magically works perfectly and you end up pissed. same with that weird little asian guy

[@motoXjake]

This channel has always been that.

[@alexhanna538]

I like that the premise of this video is that "if people can see what they are doing they will get injured less" and he proceeds to make a frag grenade

[@RyanEglitis]

Also forgetting that if what's cutting you is invisible, how would you know where _not_ to put your hand?

[@artiefufkin88]

This video made History!!! While watching it, I said out loud to myself, "That is one tough piece of Balsa!" which is the first time that's ever been said in all of Human History! Well done, crew!

[@Ryder7223]

Oh course! What better way to avoid touching something than by completely removing the ability to see it! Pure genius!

[@nicholaslewis57]

Bro boutta make his hand invisible too

[@ruben_balea]

I made 1/4 of my right thumb invisible and it is not very practical so I decided to keep my other 9-3/4 fingers visible for as long as possible 😬

[@YingwuUsagiri]

I love how you can see that these "sawblades" are more an equivalent to shovels than saws. It doesn't cut as much as it chips the wood and then flings out big chunks of wood at a time

[@drantigon]

Glorified watermill

[@RyanEglitis]

That's more or less how all saws work though. Some are just better at cutting the fibers at the edges than others.

[@ThatRPGuywithtoomanyOCs]

@@RyanEglitis Exactly correct. All saws use teeth, just most have edges, alignment, and other parameters that have been finely engineered to make then create clean, fast cuts with as little damage as possible. One that doesn't care as much are chain saws, because their use is rapid cutting in cases where clean cuts are less needed. They basically just cheese grater the wood on a thin strip.

[@nealramsey4439]

I like how that box was made with a slot in it but it was backwards lol. Then they still use the box and just reach over it only exposing the arteries in his wrist. Genius I tell ya

[@Pyrocitor]

i think the box is meant to sit entirely over the saw, in which case the slot would be the right way around, but yeah this is like the least safe safety method possible.

[@sauli01]

They used the box covering the entire saw in the old video around a year ago

[@Heptofite]

pine is actually a softwood, and balsa is a hardwood. it turns out the definition isn't really about how hard the wood is, but about the way the fibers are laid out or something

[@gigaphonicon]

The idea of a glass blade scares me. I've been cut many more times by glass than I ever have been by all my power tools combined.

[@drive2fast]

Machinist here. There is a secret to cutting using hard tools. It's fixture rigidity. If you ran the same tests again with glass blades in a stiff slow moving rig it would cut. Wrap the saw arbour in tape if loose, then use a layer of thick cardstock paper.

[@wesleyboyer6654]

If you ever try the plastic wrap again you might try a t-shirt heat press. It has a controllable heat setting and will apply even heat and pressure. Just make sure you put in in between two sheets of parchment paper so you don't melt the wrap too the press.

[@takanara7]

You don't need to melt it at all. Just take the self-sticky layers, cut out a shape, and then let the centrifugal force of the saw keep it in shape. Also, could have sprayed the plastic-wrap blade with a hose of water while it was running to keep it cool.

[@halfblood_drag0n]

@@takanara7 hes trying to make it harder i think, not really a plastic wrap blade anymore but one that isn't melted together ain't gonna cut anything

[@maolcogi]

@@takanara7 I came here to say the hose of water thing. It won't melt if you cool it down, plenty of real saws use coolant!

[@nuneke0]

Thanks mom!

[@fabianlaibin6956]

Thanks mom!

[@sifurius]

Thanks mom!

[@Eidolon1andOnly]

Real sawblades have splayed teeth with sharpened edges. The splay of the teeth is wider than the rest of the blade. This both reduces friction and binding against the bare wood, but also helps clear the saw dust which causes a lot of friction and binding as well. It also exposes more cutting surface area which is the main advantage making for more efficient cuts. Perhaps by making a two half mold, one for a each side of a real sawblade, and heating a transparent material to malleability, and by using weight or a powered-press to compression mold the material into a more accurate sawblade, there might be better results.

[@bigfan6016]

Thanks, Mom!

[@blargcoster]

0:16 and that is half the reason why I was always taught in woodworking classes to use a block of wood to push things through saws. Also had a classmate stupidly using their leg to prop up some wood while cutting with a handheld circular saw. His quadricep became a mess on the floor.

[@PharaohFluidity]

The hole in the middle should be round so the bolt won't catch like its supposed to and create a point-load that will shatter the glass. Make the hole bigger and use a thick rubber o-ring to keep any glass from touching metal

[@RyanEglitis]

Answering the question: What if "I Made a Thing" were somehow less safe.

[@CorvetteAustin24]

You need to start a museum of stupid ideas. I'd visit. This one cracked me up, I even had to take cover on this side of my computer!

[@davidkaye8712]

Scared of metal blade so creates an invisible blade that shatters into thousands of sharp pieces that fly everywhere, seems legit. Now you understand why they make them from metal.

[@PNut8421]

I Love my mom. she's awesome.

[@Eidolon1andOnly]

Drill bits made specifically for glass/ceramic exist, my dude. Place some painters' tape on the drill site, and use whitening toothpaste as an abbrasive lubricant (oxymoron I know, but trust me).

[@ruben_balea]

I've drilled tempered glass a few times (glass pot lids, to make extra vent holes) submerged (the glass, not me 😅) under a few centimeters of water both with a 10 mm Bosch MultiConstruccion drill bit and with an specific 10 mm "arrow head" drill bit, applying a very very light pressure* and using a cheap *cordless drill to not get electrocuted* and to not damage my good or at least expensive cordless drill. First I tried enlarging the factory made vent hole and broke two lids in a row, then I decided to try making new holes and drilled another five lids without breaking any more. I use them for cooking and wash them in the dishwasher and so far they have lasted more than 10 years. *So light that I spent about 40 minutes to drill each lid and the glass must be only 3 or 4 mm thick.

[@andrewdobosz3682]

Yes I make bonsai pots out of everyday ceramics (bowls baking dishes etc)by simply adding a hole using a diamond core bit. Works every time .can take a while but it's worth it

[@JeeperGary]

"Glass is glass and glass breaks" - Jerry

[@nuclearmedicineman6270]

Use a clear plastic body with glass teeth inserts.

[@joerittmeyer4490]

or better, glass dust

[@inkyskink]

My man has developed a blast shield case for his chop saw... Then proceeds to not use it while using the saw to test glass blades.

[@chrrmin1979]

Two heated metal plates, one mounted to something solid somehow, one mounted to a car jack. Heat it up while you put pressure with the cat jack

[@mrhoogles]

thanks mom

[@dr.batman]

Thanks mom, I freakin' love you ❤ 👩

[@asherknorpp724]

thanks mom!

[@zippylamb]

You should do an episode testing saw blades cut from different metals (lead, brass, tin, aluminum etc)

[@banana_bonanza]

I love the comically intense glass shattering sound during the slow-mo

[@Gathorer]

You should cut uranium ore with the jet.

[@octaviusmorlock]

Thanks Waterjet Mom!

[@sabremoo]

Thanks Mom!

[@cloudy4872]

Great series. Absolutely terrifying. Also use your riving knife!!

[@deezwaffles558]

I never SAW this SAW coming

[@notthatbad42]

dad joke, take my like

[@DanTehBro]

@notthatbad42 I thought you said take my life lol

[@notthatbad42]

@@DanTehBro #angrylike or #angrylife

[@fantasticpillow]

Glue on carbide tips. I would say the improved cutting surface will vastly improve the cutting lifespan, it also keeps 99% of the blade clear and still achieving the visual goal.

[@knightbanneret2107]

Got to love how you can test on a softer wood then a harder wood and at the same time test on a hardwood then a softwood

[@SpiritWolf1966]

I enjoy all of Waterjet Channel videos

[@arkfinz4947]

You should try spraying the wood with water or coolant while cutting to keep the saw blade from melting as fast

[@MaxMaxjustin]

“Heh what the sigma”

[@notananimationchannel]

You can cut glass with scissors if it's underwater

[@paulosborne6517]

Thanks Dan's Mom!

[@BarbadosBeerFestival]

Thanks mom

[@frankcarter8399]

You don't need the flats in the arber hole if you're using rubber washers. You don't want the board under the wood so the wood stays against the fence between and doesn't move around.

[@Hidyman]

You use the variac to slowly ramp the blade up to MAX speed. Then you let the blade do the work, don't force the saw to cut.

[@samsawesomeminecraft]

add some silicon carbide grit inside your plastic wrap saw to make it scratch its way through the target

[@adidaman1234]

yessss more saw blades

[@amirhosseinmaghsoodi388]

So interesting seeing the properties of glass demonstrated here.

[@bobmarlej9106]

another episode of highly acclaimed series, thanks mom

[@paulosborne6517]

The genius of using Balsa, which is technically 'hardwood', and Pine, which is technically 'softwood'... Nice ironic in-joke there.

[@Gr8Success]

I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY THEY DON'T MAKE THE SAW BLADES FROM PLASTIC ! NOW I KNOW WHY ! THANKS WATERJET CHANNEL !

[@gtillx3113]

If you wanted to try a less clear version, I wonder how well different types of micarta would work

[@nuclearisok3353]

thx mum !

[@uglyshader1611]

am i the only one wondering why he didnt just put the cleanly layered plastic wrap between the two tiles and put it all in the kiln at like 300 for a few min so that all the layers would melt together while being pressed flat

[@WaterjetChannel]

the kiln is like 6 inches wide :( which is still a lot dont get me wrong

[@uglyshader1611]

@@WaterjetChannel ok thats fair. in the vid it kinda looked like it was closer to 8-10ish but if its only about 6 then even if you reduced the size of the tiles and plastic wrap you wouldnt have much of a blade. . . . lol maybe it would work for a little skill saw or a wheel grinder

[@andrewdobosz3682]

Diamond coring bit is what you need. Under water or with constant water flow . Slowly and little pressure. That's how to drill a hole in glass

[@OctaApe]

If you ever do saran wrap again, just cut right off the roll, it's already layered, it just may not be wide enough that's all. I would say it needs pressure after heating. so maybe a manual hydraulic press made with a car jack and some wood plates bolted into a frame or under something heavy. You could take a Dremel tool or belt sander and get a small edge on the teeth, it will help alot. Maybe serrated even. ATM you are using a chipping method, only really good for carbide tool bits.

[@tracybowling1156]

Thanks, Mom! And thank you too for making videos that always make me happy! Also, can you try a marble saw blade? And, I can't remember. Did you already make one out of resin?

[@Liamspike202]

a solid 10 seconds passed before i realised it was glass in the thumbnail

[@crazyjoe978]

you should try a material called Aluminium oxynitride. Aluminium oxynitride is the hardest polycrystalline transparent ceramic available commercially

[@the_inquisitive_inquisitor]

Well this seems needlessly dangerous

[@YourLocalStormChaser]

Thanks mom!!!

[@Useruserusername790]

Saw blades have a hardened piece of steel soldered to each tooth and that is what actually cuts. This dude could glue 1 to each tooth of that plastic saw and get the same affect.

[@donpalmera]

waterjets being used on the waterjet channel??1?1!! Madness.

[@PCrailfan3790]

6:53 beautiful, back when things were built to last

[@samnelson7943]

The slow motion is so satisfying!!!!!!!!!!

[@wayneswonderarium]

Thanks, Mom. Nice iron, clearly she wasn't going to let you borrow her tupperware

[@IBRailVid]

Make your own janky version of bulletproof glass, the polycarbonate would keep it together and the glass would give it the sharpness. Would have to be thin sheets for both or it's not going on the saw. Could also make 3 and 5 ply versions.

[@vancemacd6315]

Love the effort you put in. A couple of suggestions, I think speed would help cut alot better, also if you baked the glass in a kiln or or furnace for pottery would greatly help aswell. Sweet videos

[@GerinoMorn]

I can attest that carbide/diamond tipped bits allow one to drill into glass, ceramic, enamel and all other interesting things. Normal bits are at... considerable disadvantage here.

[@trstmeimadctr]

If you want to melt plastic without a bunch of equipment, the best way is a double-boiler. It ensures that it never gets hot enough to melt the plastic. If the meltinging point of what you want to melt is higher than water's boiling point, you can use mineral oil, which will take you up to 536 degrees F without letting it go above. Ive used this method before to melt a few plastics, including polyvinyl chloride, which is what plastic wrap is made of. Just be careful because when it turns completely liquid, it is hot and sticky like napalm. And if you don't believe me, just check my username.

[@legitscoper3259]

The "Im not a (w)rapper" reference was excellent, but i doubt anyone remembers that legend

[@g2sei]

I broke up with my ex girl, here's her number SIKE THAT'S THE WRONG NUMBER

[@legitscoper3259]

@@g2sei Exaaaactly

[@JaggedBird]

I want more of these can _______ be used as a saw videos. They're fascinating Also thanks mam!

[@TheFlyingSniperTFS]

I feel like I'm watching a universe where theodd1sout decided to be a William Osman type science youtuber instead of an animator

[@caodesignworks2407]

Next time you're running the glass blades let it get to your max speed before cutting and don't vary the speed as much. But also, clamp that wood down better so it can't move

[@Alan_Hans__]

If you tried pyrex glass like some cutting boards are made from or gorilla glass screen protectors you might have more luck. One major issue other than the fact that glass tends to be brittle is that there is no tooth offset.

[@matthewkizziahcuzia...gott9632]

An idea for another video... Mix up some of the garnet abrasive into some resin and maybe without teeth like a cut off wheel

[@emi83ro]

You could try with layered transparent duct tape. Rotate the layers for strength

[@GSTsenpai]

Polycarbonate + Silica sand when?

[@GuildOfCalamity]

Maybe use a laminated glass for the blade since the glass w/tape shows promise?

[@Tootall206]

Heat the edge of the Lexan sawblade, melt some abrasive into it, and you might cut lead or even pottery...

[@proletariennenaturiste]

SawStops are lit.

[@ericdamexican]

Really nice variac, but the heat is only expanding the air between the layers.

[@MajorJakas]

Glass doesn't crack while it's still molten; you guys should have made a saw blade out of molten glass.

[@z3cki]

You should install metal teeth on the plexi sawblade if the purpose is to just see through the blade

[@beastbIade]

why not make a metal saw blade ring to attach to clear circles? take a regular saw blade use water jet to cut the teeth off in a ring but cut dove tails opposite side of the teeth so it can be secured to the plastic or glass circles. might need multiple metal blades to match the thickness of the plastic. edit: the metal saw blade ring could be set in resin circles. since you like working with resin.

[@werewolfgirl1995]

Glass is very sensitive to vibrations unlike metal, i don't think its possible to make a glass saw blade, unless maybe its bulletproof glass or something

[@tymz-r-achangin]

I dont think anyone needs a video on if glass or plastic would be a better saw blade than steel. Can easily imagine that glass will fracture and shatter, and plastic is not hard enough to maintain an efficient cut

[@nathanellis3111]

Wrapping the wrap could have been so much easier. It was already wrapped. Cut some layers and overlap them

[@user-hn4nx1lh4s]

Use mold release spray.

[@FoxDog1080]

The melting point of plastic wrap may be uhhhh however high that was But I'm pretty sure the glue has a higher melting point and the plastic has a lower combustion point

[@Bagline]

I think the block turned and leveraged against the glass blade to shatter it.

[@bobmarlej9106]

i love the saw series

[@Zarkonem]

Imagine if you had protective box with a slot cut in it that you could use the handle and the saw was encased in this box to protect you so that you didn't have to lean over this box with a slot cut in it in order to protect yourself while you operate the saw.

[@fatman3]

Yeah why did he do that

[@DanTehBro]

That would be crazy

[@alexriofrio5754]

Metal teeth sandwiched between 2 round sheets of polycarbonate.

[@CharlesGriswold]

New materials that don't like to explode? Where's the fun in that?

[@WaterjetChannel]

had to throw in some normal glass just for kicks and giggles

[@Somethingfunnee]

Submerge the glass in water when cutting. You might get better results. I think i seen that somewhere 😄

[@alexthedonutslayer591]

Why don't you try to make some "composite" blades? Like, for example, a blade that's mostly polycarbonate, but the part with the teeth is a thin ring of metal? Or binding the carbide teeth directly to a polycarbonate disk? Or you could embed a steel mesh between 2 layers of rigid plastic, so it retains some transparency, but still has a tough material in it to provide an actual cutting edge. Also, the teeth need to be offset/bent a little to the side, so the channel is wide enough for the sides of the blade to not rub against the material. It seems that a lot of the blade failures come from either the teeth binding and snapping the blade, or the material melting from friction.

[@halfblood_drag0n]

for some reason ive always heard mold release the the mold that grows in your basment

[@daveytn]

What happened to the old water jet guys?

[@Wbfuhn]

My only criticism is you didn't cut an angle for the tooth side. If you had angled the jet nozzle or use a grind wheel and shaved an angle for the teeth you would have had a sharper edge and be able to cut more easily. What you can do as well is take a grinder and cut angled grooves.