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Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

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.

Related: Cutting & Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, & Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Lathe & Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Milling & Planing Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Wood

Industries: Manufacturing

Summary
Details

Install and adjust blades, cutterheads, boring-bits, or sanding-belts, using hand tools and rules.
Inspect pulleys, drive belts, guards, or fences on machines to ensure that machines will operate safely.
Unclamp workpieces and remove them from machines.
Set up, program, operate, or tend computerized or manual woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, or wood-nailing machines.
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.
Monitor operation of machines and make adjustments to correct problems and ensure conformance to specifications.
Clean or maintain products, machines, or work areas.
Set up, program, or control computer-aided design (CAD) or computer numerical control (CNC) machines.
Feed stock through feed mechanisms or conveyors into planing, shaping, boring, mortising, or sanding machines to produce desired components.
Clean or maintain products, machines, or work areas.
Operate gluing machines to glue pieces of wood together, or to press and affix wood veneer to wood surfaces.
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.
Push or hold workpieces against, under, or through cutting, boring, or shaping mechanisms.
Examine raw woodstock for defects and to ensure conformity to size and other specification standards.
Select knives, saws, blades, cutter heads, cams, bits, or belts, according to workpiece, machine functions, or product specifications.
Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written instructions, drawings, or work orders.
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.
Attach and adjust guides, stops, clamps, chucks, or feed mechanisms, using hand tools.
Install and adjust blades, cutterheads, boring-bits, or sanding-belts, using hand tools and rules.
Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly.
Clean or maintain products, machines, or work areas.
Remove and replace worn parts, bits, belts, sandpaper, or shaping tools.
Inspect and mark completed workpieces and stack them on pallets, in boxes, or on conveyors so that they can be moved to the next workstation.
Trim wood parts according to specifications, using planes, chisels, or wood files or sanders.
Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written instructions, drawings, or work orders.
Attach and adjust guides, stops, clamps, chucks, or feed mechanisms, using hand tools.
Start machines and move levers to engage hydraulic lifts that press woodstocks into desired forms and disengage lifts after appropriate drying times.
Adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations.
Inspect and mark completed workpieces and stack them on pallets, in boxes, or on conveyors so that they can be moved to the next workstation.
Grease or oil woodworking machines.
Change alignment and adjustment of sanding, cutting, or boring machine guides to prevent defects in finished products, using hand tools.
Control hoists to remove parts or products from work stations.
Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly.

Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.

Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.

Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

50170/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

24.12/hr

Currently Employed

2,260

Yearly Projected Openings

200

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Adaptability/Flexibility
Independence
Integrity
Cooperation

Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
Adjustable wrenches
Biscuit jointers
Boring machines
Calipers
Cheesegrater file
Claw hammer
Compasses
Conveyor feeders
Cutting machines
Desktop computers
Drilling machines
Grease guns
Grinding machines
Hand sprayers
Height gauges
Hold down clamps
Horizontal turning center
Hydraulic press frames
Mainframe console or dumb terminals
Milling machines
Paint brushes
Planes
Planing machines
Pneumatic sanding machines
Positioning jig
Power grinders
Power nail guns
Power routers
Power sanders
Power saws
Protective gloves
Protractors
Rulers
Safety glasses
Sanding machines
Saws
Shaper cutter
Squares
Templates
Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
Wood chisels
Wood gouge

Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop publishing software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Industrial control software
Inventory management software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Time accounting software
Video creation and editing software
Word processing software

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Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

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