Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

Set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines. May operate CNC equipment.

Median Annual Wage: $27,450

Education: High school diploma or equivalent (73%); Less than high school diploma (21%); Post-secondary certificate (5%)

Projected Growth: Average (8% to 14%)

Related Job Titles: Machine Operator; Cabinet Maker; Router Operator; Computer Numerical Control Operator (CNC Operator); Sander; Lathe Operator; Knot Saw Operator; Sander Operator; Molder Operator; Boring Machine Operator

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Source: O*NET OnLine information for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing.

More Production Careers

  • Set up, program, operate, or tend computerized or manual woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, or wood-nailing machines.
  • Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly.
  • Monitor operation of machines and make adjustments to correct problems and ensure conformance to specifications.
  • Examine raw woodstock for defects and to ensure conformity to size and other specification standards.
  • Adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations.
  • Install and adjust blades, cutterheads, boring-bits, or sanding-belts, using hand tools and rules.
  • Change alignment and adjustment of sanding, cutting, or boring machine guides to prevent defects in finished products, using hand tools.
  • Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written instructions, drawings, or work orders.
  • Feed stock through feed mechanisms or conveyors into planing, shaping, boring, mortising, or sanding machines to produce desired components.
  • Push or hold workpieces against, under, or through cutting, boring, or shaping mechanisms.
  • Select knives, saws, blades, cutter heads, cams, bits, or belts, according to workpiece, machine functions, or product specifications.
  • Remove and replace worn parts, bits, belts, sandpaper, or shaping tools.
  • Secure woodstock against a guide or in a holding device, place woodstock on a conveyor, or dump woodstock in a hopper to feed woodstock into machines.
  • Inspect and mark completed workpieces and stack them on pallets, in boxes, or on conveyors so that they can be moved to the next workstation.
  • Inspect pulleys, drive belts, guards, or fences on machines to ensure that machines will operate safely.
  • Clean or maintain products, machines, or work areas.
  • Attach and adjust guides, stops, clamps, chucks, or feed mechanisms, using hand tools.
  • Trim wood parts according to specifications, using planes, chisels, or wood files or sanders.
  • Grease or oil woodworking machines.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing.

  • Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
  • Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
  • Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
  • Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Equipment Selection - Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.

Source: O*NET OnLine information for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing.

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