What Do Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender Do?
Example of Woodworking Machine Operator Job Set up, operate, or tend woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, and wood nailing machines. May operate CNC equipment.
Life As a Woodworking Machine Operator: What Do They Do?
- Adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations.
- Select knives, saws, blades, cutter heads, cams, bits, or belts, according to workpiece, machine functions, or product specifications.
- Feed stock through feed mechanisms or conveyors into planing, shaping, boring, mortising, or sanding machines to produce desired components.
- Sharpen knives, bits, or other cutting or shaping tools.
- Operate gluing machines to glue pieces of wood together, or to press and affix wood veneer to wood surfaces.
- Attach and adjust guides, stops, clamps, chucks, or feed mechanisms, using hand tools.
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What Every Woodworking Machine Operator Should Know
When polled, Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Operation Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
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.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Types of Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender
- Planer Type Milling Machine Setup Operator
- Trimming Machine Set-Up Operator
- Wood Drilling Machine Operator
- Plow and Boring Machine Tender
- Hoop Expander
What Kind of Woodworking Machine Operator Job Opportunities Are There?
There were about 77,100 jobs for Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender in 2016 (in the United States). There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender. The BLS estimates 8,400 yearly job openings in this field.

The states with the most job growth for Woodworking Machine Operator are Utah, Florida, and Nevada. Watch out if you plan on working in Vermont, Kansas, or Maine. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Woodworking Machine Operator Average Salary
The typical yearly salary for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders is somewhere between $20,870 and $44,420.

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders who work in Wyoming, Connecticut, or Nevada, make the highest salaries.
How much do Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders make in each U.S. state?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $28,600 |
Alaska | $36,660 |
Arizona | $27,500 |
Arkansas | $28,110 |
California | $32,360 |
Colorado | $37,050 |
Connecticut | $40,440 |
Florida | $29,150 |
Georgia | $27,650 |
Hawaii | $36,070 |
Idaho | $33,350 |
Illinois | $33,310 |
Indiana | $31,140 |
Iowa | $33,680 |
Kansas | $32,160 |
Kentucky | $27,700 |
Louisiana | $31,570 |
Maine | $30,240 |
Maryland | $32,160 |
Massachusetts | $37,660 |
Michigan | $30,870 |
Minnesota | $36,320 |
Mississippi | $29,660 |
Missouri | $28,940 |
Montana | $34,530 |
Nebraska | $30,160 |
Nevada | $38,300 |
New Hampshire | $35,240 |
New Jersey | $33,090 |
New Mexico | $36,440 |
New York | $35,300 |
North Carolina | $29,630 |
North Dakota | $33,570 |
Ohio | $31,500 |
Oklahoma | $31,190 |
Oregon | $35,950 |
Pennsylvania | $33,220 |
Rhode Island | $32,730 |
South Carolina | $29,360 |
South Dakota | $29,800 |
Tennessee | $28,800 |
Texas | $26,790 |
Utah | $31,160 |
Vermont | $31,650 |
Virginia | $28,730 |
Washington | $35,530 |
West Virginia | $29,430 |
Wisconsin | $31,510 |
Wyoming | $41,170 |
What Tools & Technology do Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Outlook
- Word processing software
- Microsoft Windows
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Systems Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Systems Adobe InDesign
- Dassault Systemes CATIA
- Dassault Systemes SOLIDWORKS
- Enterprise resource planning ERP software
- YouTube
- Apple macOS
- Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
- Adobe Systems Adobe Creative Suite
- Computer aided design and drafting CADD software
How do I Become a Woodworking Machine Operator?
Learn what Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender education requirements there are.

How many years of work experience do I need?

Where Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Work

The table below shows the approximate number of Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders employed by various industries.

Similar Careers
Are you already one of the many Woodworking Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
References:
Image Credit: Airman 1st Class Sadie Colbert via Public domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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