Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing: Job Description
Set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines. May operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment.
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What Tasks Do Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Do?
The day-to-day responsibilities of woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing span:
- Set up, program, operate, or tend computerized or manual woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, or wood-nailing machines.
- Examine finished workpieces for smoothness, shape, angle, depth-of-cut, or conformity to specifications and verify dimensions, visually and using hands, rules, calipers, templates, or gauges.
- 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.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Effective woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Key Skills
The competencies that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Other Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Adzing and Boring Machine Operator
- Artificial Log Machine Operator
- Automatic Clipper
- Automatic Nailing Machine Operator
- Automatic Profile Shaper Operator
- Balloon Sander
- Band Nailer
- Bander
Job Outlook
There are roughly 445,942 woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +2.3% over the projection horizon.
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $38,070 |
| Hourly median | $18.30 |
| 10th percentile | $25,820 |
| 25th percentile | $31,945 |
| 75th percentile | $44,195 |
| 90th percentile | $50,320 |
Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.
How Much Do Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Make in Different U.S. States?
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| Washington | $50,170 |
| Oregon | $49,430 |
| Minnesota | $48,920 |
| Montana | $47,940 |
| Iowa | $47,890 |
| Nebraska | $47,590 |
| Rhode Island | $47,570 |
| Michigan | $46,180 |
| Louisiana | $46,040 |
| New Hampshire | $45,960 |
| Nevada | $45,820 |
| Idaho | $45,730 |
| Maryland | $45,530 |
| California | $45,020 |
| Connecticut | $44,970 |
| Vermont | $44,900 |
| Illinois | $44,620 |
| Colorado | $44,580 |
| Ohio | $44,510 |
| Massachusetts | $43,880 |
| North Dakota | $43,580 |
| Pennsylvania | $43,020 |
| Wisconsin | $41,400 |
| West Virginia | $41,290 |
| South Dakota | $41,070 |
| New York | $40,450 |
| New Jersey | $40,190 |
| South Carolina | $40,190 |
| Arizona | $39,870 |
| Indiana | $39,860 |
| Maine | $39,350 |
| Wyoming | $38,640 |
| Missouri | $37,890 |
| Utah | $37,880 |
| Kansas | $37,630 |
| New Mexico | $37,440 |
| North Carolina | $37,350 |
| Mississippi | $37,100 |
| Georgia | $37,070 |
| Kentucky | $37,050 |
| Virginia | $37,030 |
| Florida | $36,810 |
| Alabama | $36,600 |
| Arkansas | $36,520 |
| Oklahoma | $36,270 |
| Texas | $34,630 |
| Tennessee | $34,340 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Compensation for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing vary by region. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Far Western US | $47,309 | 11.8% | 1.14 |
| Plains States | $44,317 | 7.7% | 1.64 |
| New England | $43,768 | 4.3% | 1.32 |
| Great Lakes | $43,261 | 26.0% | 2.30 |
| Rocky Mountains | $43,121 | 3.8% | 1.42 |
| Middle Atlantic | $42,011 | 9.0% | 0.90 |
| Southeast | $37,218 | 32.9% | 1.74 |
| Southwest | $34,960 | 4.5% | 0.42 |
Where the Jobs Cluster
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longview-Kelso, WA | WA | $57,770 | 80 |
| Savannah, GA | GA | $53,080 | 70 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | WA | $52,540 | 40 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $51,740 | 350 |
| Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $51,490 | 90 |
| Bellingham, WA | WA | $51,270 | 200 |
| Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $51,190 | 50 |
| Medford, OR | OR | $50,780 | 160 |
Which Industries Hire Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
The bulk of woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 57,540 | $40,830 |
| Wholesale Trade | 3,020 | $40,190 |
| Retail Trade | 430 | $47,140 |
| Construction | 310 | $60,060 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 70 | $33,810 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 60 | $50,190 |
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing work in the following industries:
Tech Stack
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
- Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Apple macOS (hot technology)
- Computer aided design CAD software: Autodesk AutoCAD (hot technology)
- Computer aided manufacturing CAM software: Dassault Systemes SolidWorks (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
The on-the-job environment of woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing reflects the following characteristics:
- Exposed to Contaminants
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls
- Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable
- Spend Time Standing
Education and Training
Entry-level woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Other Careers to Consider
Similar Occupations
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics (Supplemental)
- Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Long)
- Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Long)
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Long)
- Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Supplemental)
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Short)
- Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Short)
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic (Primary-Short)
Degree Programs
Future woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing typically earn programs in:
Precision Production
2 programs across 1 majors
Sources
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 51-7042.00 (Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing).
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