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Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing in Arkansas

Thinking about a career as a Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing in Arkansas? Here’s what you need to know. 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. Workers who primarily program or operate CNC equipment are classified in “Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators and Programmers” (51-9160).

What do Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Make in Arkansas?

For a woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing working in Arkansas, the typical annual salary is $36,520 per year (or roughly $17.56/hour).Pay can range from $25,150 at the 10th percentile to $48,930 at the 90th percentile.

Wage Statistic	Annual	Hourly
10th percentile	$25,150	$12.09
25th percentile	$29,060	$13.97
Median (50th)	$36,520	$17.56
75th percentile	$45,170	$21.72
90th percentile	$48,930	$23.52

The location quotient — a measure of how concentrated this occupation is in Arkansas relative to the national average — is 2.03, meaning that woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing are more concentrated here than the national average.

National Wage Comparison

Nationally, woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing earn a median of $38,070 per year ($18.30/hour), lower than the Arkansas median.

Employment Outlook

National employment for 445,942 woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing nationwide. In Arkansas alone, approximately 1,070 people work in this role. That puts the state above the typical state, which employs around 880 woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing.

Top Arkansas Metros for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

The metro areas below employ the most woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing in Arkansas.

Metro Area	Number Employed	Annual Median Salary
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	130	$34,920
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR	130	$35,660
Fort Smith, AR-OK	70	$35,630

Top States for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing Employment

View the states that employ the most woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing work.

State	Number Employed
Michigan	4,810
Indiana	3,980
North Carolina	3,870
California	3,440
Pennsylvania	3,190
Wisconsin	3,090
Alabama	2,750
Ohio	2,650
Georgia	2,520
Texas	2,370
Tennessee	2,250
Oregon	2,030
Virginia	1,580
Iowa	1,570
Kentucky	1,560
South Carolina	1,500
Washington	1,430
Illinois	1,430
New York	1,420
Florida	1,370

Highest-Paying States for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

Where woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing earn the most: woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing.

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

Skills

The most important woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing skills, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Key knowledge areas for this occupation, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Abilities

Top abilities for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Daily Tasks

Common tasks include:

• 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.
• 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.

Work Activities

• Controlling Machines and Processes
• Handling and Moving Objects
• Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
• Getting Information
• Performing General Physical Activities
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems
• Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
• Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
• Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People
• Processing Information
• Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information

Tools & Technology

Software and systems commonly involved: Hot technologies: Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud software

What Major Will Prepare You For This Career?

Several college majors map to this occupation:

• Woodworking

Related Careers

Other careers like woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing include:

• Industrial Machinery Mechanics
• Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

Also Known As

Adzing and Boring Machine Operator, Artificial Log Machine Operator, Automatic Clipper, Automatic Nailing Machine Operator, Automatic Profile Shaper Operator, Balloon Sander, Band Nailer, Bander, Barker Operator, Barrel Builder, Barrel Charrer, Barrel Lathe Operator, Barrel Maker, Basket Assembler, Basket Braider.

References

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — https://www.bls.gov/oes/
• O*NET Online — https://www.onetonline.org/
• BLS Employment Projections — https://www.bls.gov/emp/
• O*NET-SOC code: 51-7042.00