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.
Also Known As
- Cabinet Maker
- Machine Operator
- Sander
- Sander Operator
Alternate Job Titles
- 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
What You'll Do
In this role, your typical responsibilities 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.
Essential Skills
Success in this career requires strong skills in:
- Operations Monitoring
Key Abilities
This career requires key abilities in:
- Near Vision
- Reaction Time
- Control Precision
- Manual Dexterity
- Oral Comprehension
- Static Strength
- Trunk Strength
- Multilimb Coordination
- Problem Sensitivity
- Far Vision
Work Style
People who excel in this career typically demonstrate:
- Attention to Detail
- Dependability
- Cautiousness
- Achievement Orientation
- Stress Tolerance
What Matters in This Career
This career tends to satisfy these work values:
- Support
- Independence
- Working Conditions
- Relationships
- Achievement
Education & Preparation
Typical Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Related Work Experience Needed: Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months
On-the-Job Training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month
Education Details: Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Experience Required: Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience. For example, landscaping and groundskeeping workers might require very little training or previous experience, while agricultural equipment operators can benefit from on-the job training.
Technology You'll Use
Popular Technologies & Software
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Apple macOS
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Dassault Systemes SolidWorks
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
Tools & Equipment
- Adjustable hand wrenches
- Automatic panel saws
- Bench grinders
- Biscuit jointers
- Boring bars
- Boring machines
- Case clamps
- Claw hammers
- Combination squares
- Computer terminals
- Computerized numerical control CNC boring machines
- Conveyor feeders
- Desktop computers
- Dial calipers
- Digital calipers
Work Environment
- 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
Salary & Job Market
| Salary Percentile | Annual Wage |
|---|---|
| Entry-Level (10th percentile) | $30,920 |
| Median | $40,440 |
| Top Earners (90th percentile) | $54,340 |
Workers Employed Nationally: 63,350
Related Careers
If you're interested in this career, you might also consider:
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $39,950
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $45,700
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $45,190
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $48,310
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Education: High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)
Median Salary: $48,620
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Occupational data sourced from the O*NET OnLine database, developed by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Wage data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.