Among the list of cutting tools employed by workshops and fabricators, “water” isn’t usually a contender for carving steel. But fill it with ground gem stones and spray a pressurized jet, and Warrenton Steel owner Shawn Grooms says water is one of the most precise cutting tools in his shop.

A 200-square-foot water jet cutting machine is one of the newest additions to the steel fabricating business, along with Grooms himself, who purchased the business earlier this year. Grooms is eager to promote what the water jet machine can do, and hopes to use it to partner with area manufacturers or even break into the aerospace market.

“The precision of it is plus or minus two-thousandths of an inch accuracy, which is less than half the thickness of a sheet of paper, or half the thickness of a human hair,” Grooms explained. “It gives us new capabilities that the shop did not have before.”

The machine consists of a 10-by-20 foot mechanical table, where material to be cut is submerged in a shallow pool of water. A beam carrying the water jet cutter moves across the table, blasting an abrasive mixture of water and crushed garnet just under the surface in a precise pattern, guided by a computer.

The jet cuts cold, so it doesn’t damage heat sensitive material such as rubber. It can cut through almost anything, Grooms said, with the efficiency and precision to dramatically reduce the time of some previously labor intensive jobs.

 On top of that, Grooms said it’s one of the largest water jets available in the region.

Grooms hopes the new tech will allow Warrenton Steel to become a more regional business and become involved with some advanced manufacturing.

“We can cut carbon fiber for the aerospace companies that you cannot cut with a plasma cutter,” he commented.

Operating the machine does come with its costs. Between using crushed garnet gems as part of the cutting material and the electricity to run the machine, Grooms said it costs about $100 per hour to operate.

In exchange, the water jet produces higher quality cuts and is highly flexible in the materials it can cut and the types of jobs it can do.

Warrenton Steel estimator and sales representative Tony Brown said the company plans to use those capabilities in marketing its services to a wider variety of customers.

“It should open us up to different avenues to become a single-service (shop) for our customers, in lieu of them having to go multiple places,” Brown said. “We would like to get into the aerospace market, or even some kind of military use. They expect a much higher quality product than, say, your local farm supply place.”

With that long-term ambition in mind, Warrenton Steel is also keeping the water jet busy with jobs for other local businesses. They’ve been dabbling in precision sign making, and have cut parts for local manufacturers such as Mittler Brothers, Sealcraft and others in the area, Brown said.

He added that he hopes other local manufacturers will be enthusiastic about partnering with Warrenton Steel if the water jet can provide something they need.

“We have it. It’s here. Feel free to reach out to us about it,” Brown commented. “If you can get it wet, (the water jet) can cut anything.”