An apparatus for working material employs a tilting mechanism which tilts a head about a theoretical point disposed upon the sheet material. The welding or cutting head is defined as a laser head and the pivot point corresponds with the laser beam focal point. The laser head projects a laser beam directly upon the sheet material without the use of redirecting steerable mirrors. At least a pair of tilting mechanisms are employed to tilt the welding or cutting head along differing rotational planes. Various axial slides are employed in combination with a gantry. A laser vision system tracks a welding seam and a pre-weld gap. The tilting mechanism creates a tailored blank butt weld between dissimilar materials. A method of operating the present invention is also provided.