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Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing: Career Overview
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.
What Do Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Take On?
The core tasks performed by 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.
What Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Need to Know
Effective woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
These are the skills most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Types of Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Jobs
Common job titles for this role include:
- 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. Demand is forecast to grow by +2.3% over the projection horizon.
How Much Do Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Make?
| 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.
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Salary by State
| 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 |
Pay by U.S. Region
Pay for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing shift depending on where you work. 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 |
Top Metro Areas
| 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 |
Industry Breakdown
The largest employers of woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing are concentrated in the following sectors:
| 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 |
The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.
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)
What the Workplace Is Like
The work environment for 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
Getting Started in This Career
Entry-level woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), reflecting 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)
Where to Study
Future woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing commonly pursue 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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