What Do Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender Do?
Career Description Set up, operate, or tend wood sawing machines. May operate CNC equipment. Includes lead sawyers.
Life As a Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender
- Monitor sawing machines, adjusting speed and tension and clearing jams to ensure proper operation.
- Dispose of waste material after completing work assignments.
- Lubricate or clean machines, using wrenches, grease guns, or solvents.
- Guide workpieces against saws, saw over workpieces by hand, or operate automatic feeding devices to guide cuts.
- Inspect and measure workpieces to mark for cuts and to verify the accuracy of cuts, using rulers, squares, or caliper rules.
- Unload and roll logs from trucks to sawmill decks or to carriages or move logs in ponds, using pike poles.
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What Skills Do You Need to Work as a Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender?
Below is a list of the skills most Wood Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders say are important on the job.
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.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Types of Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender
- Block Sawyer
- Heading Saw Operator
- Stave Log Cut-Off Saw Operator
- Mine Wedge Sawyer
- Hoop Cutter
Job Opportunities for Wood Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
In the United States, there were 54,800 jobs for Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender in 2016. There is little to no growth in job opportunities for Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender. There will be an estimated 6,200 positions for Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender per year.

The states with the most job growth for Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender are Utah, Florida, and Iowa. Watch out if you plan on working in Vermont, Maine, or Montana. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender Salary
The typical yearly salary for Wood Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders is somewhere between $20,670 and $45,410.

Wood Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders who work in Montana, Connecticut, or Vermont, make the highest salaries.
How much do Wood Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders make in different U.S. states?
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $29,460 |
Alaska | $35,430 |
Arizona | $30,510 |
Arkansas | $29,480 |
California | $32,350 |
Colorado | $34,920 |
Connecticut | $41,160 |
Florida | $28,660 |
Georgia | $27,320 |
Hawaii | $37,300 |
Idaho | $34,780 |
Illinois | $31,720 |
Indiana | $32,070 |
Iowa | $35,030 |
Kansas | $27,840 |
Kentucky | $25,840 |
Louisiana | $36,050 |
Maine | $35,300 |
Maryland | $31,630 |
Massachusetts | $37,170 |
Michigan | $35,360 |
Minnesota | $35,000 |
Mississippi | $29,720 |
Missouri | $27,600 |
Montana | $43,250 |
Nebraska | $30,640 |
Nevada | $29,310 |
New Hampshire | $34,120 |
New Jersey | $33,280 |
New Mexico | $31,130 |
New York | $33,970 |
North Carolina | $30,720 |
Ohio | $32,080 |
Oklahoma | $36,550 |
Oregon | $35,840 |
Pennsylvania | $32,550 |
Rhode Island | $29,970 |
South Carolina | $29,240 |
South Dakota | $31,560 |
Tennessee | $27,680 |
Texas | $25,530 |
Utah | $28,200 |
Vermont | $38,930 |
Virginia | $29,580 |
Washington | $38,280 |
West Virginia | $31,800 |
Wisconsin | $31,980 |
Wyoming | $31,940 |
Tools & Technologies Used by Wood Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Wood Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat
- Computerized numerical control CNC software
- Automated inventory software
How to Become a Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender
What education or degrees do I need to become a Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender?

How Long Does it Take to Become a Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender?

Where Wood Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders Work

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Similar Careers
Those thinking about becoming a Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender might also be interested in the following careers:
- Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers
Those who work as a Wood Sawing Machine Setter, Operator, or Tender sometimes switch careers to one of these choices:
- Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
- Furniture Finishers
- Team Assemblers
References:
Image Credit: Airman 1st Class Sadie Colbert via Public domain
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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