Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Career, Salary and Skills

Occupation 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.

National salary and employment

Top skills

Typical tasks

• 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.
• Install and adjust blades, cutterheads, boring-bits, or sanding-belts, using hand tools and rules.

Technology

• Adobe Acrobat
• Adobe Creative Cloud software
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Photoshop
• Apple macOS
• AS/400 Database
• Autodesk AutoCAD
• Computer aided design and drafting CADD software
• Computerized numerical control CNC software
• Dassault Systemes CATIA
• Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
• Inventory control software
• Microsoft Excel

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing salary by location

Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.

• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in MI
  Median $47,680 · Employment 5,250
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in NC
  Median $37,550 · Employment 4,090
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in IN
  Median $41,600 · Employment 3,570
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in CA
  Median $46,370 · Employment 3,530
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in PA
  Median $44,980 · Employment 3,310
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in Grand Rapids, MI
  Median $47,720 · Employment 2,780
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in OH
  Median $43,930 · Employment 2,710
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in WI
  Median $44,450 · Employment 2,610
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in AL
  Median $36,750 · Employment 2,580
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in GA
  Median $37,380 · Employment 2,280
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in TX
  Median $33,840 · Employment 2,130
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary in OR
  Median $49,480 · Employment 2,120

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