Skip to main contentReport an accessibility problem
ASU for LifeASU for Life

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

ManufacturingO*NET 51-7042.00United States

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.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning
Median annual earnings
$43,374

50th percentile, United States

Projected change
+0.8%

2025 to 2035

Typical education
High school diploma or less

93.7% of the workforce

Employment
61.67K jobs

Growing to 62.17K by 2035

Explore this career by location

Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.

Showing United States

Loading available locations…

Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

Loading related ASU learning

The work

What woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Change alignment and adjustment of sanding, cutting, or boring machine guides to prevent defects in finished products, using hand tools.
  • Select knives, saws, blades, cutter heads, cams, bits, or belts, according to workpiece, machine functions, or product specifications.
  • Push or hold workpieces against, under, or through cutting, boring, or shaping mechanisms.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Inspect pulleys, drive belts, guards, or fences on machines to ensure that machines will operate safely.
  • Clean or maintain products, machines, or work areas.
  • Attach and adjust guides, stops, clamps, chucks, or feed mechanisms, using hand tools.
  • Trim wood parts according to specifications, using planes, chisels, or wood files or sanders.
  • Grease or oil woodworking machines.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile
$32,091
25th percentile
$37,092
50th percentile
$43,374
75th percentile
$48,710
90th percentile
$56,837

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $43,374 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+0.8%average or slower
202561,674 jobs
2035 projected62,165 jobs

491 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

High school diploma or less
93.7%
Certificate
4.6%
Bachelor's degree
1.7%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

  • Machine Operation
  • Machinery
  • Lifting Ability
  • Woodworking
  • Woodworking Machines
  • Sawing
  • Tape Measure
  • Hand Tools
  • Tooling
  • Network Routing
  • Calipers
  • Machine Setup
  • Forklift Truck
  • Machining
  • Technical Drawing
  • Safety Standards
  • Blueprinting
  • General Mathematics
  • Mechanical Aptitude
  • Packaging And Labeling

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

  1. 01Machine Operators35 postings
  2. 02Woodworkers21 postings
  3. 03Molding Machine Operators6 postings
  4. 04Woodshop Assistants5 postings
  5. 05Machine Shop Managers4 postings
  6. 06Manufacturing Machine Operators4 postings
  7. 07Woodshop Monitors4 postings
  8. 08Grinding Machine Operators3 postings
  9. 09Machine Operator Technicians3 postings
  10. 10Finishing Machine Operators2 postings
  11. 11Production Machine Operators2 postings
  12. 12Saw Operators2 postings
  13. 13Coating, Painting and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders1 postings
  14. 14Corrugator Operators1 postings
  15. 15Floor Workers1 postings
  16. 16Industrial Sewing Machine Operators1 postings
  17. 17Laser Marking Machine Operators1 postings
  18. 18Machine Operators/Assembly1 postings
  19. 19Machinists/Machine Operators1 postings
  20. 20Mail Machine Operators1 postings

Top employers

  1. 01Haworth7 postings
  2. 02Eaton Corporation6 postings
  3. 03Sonoco Products6 postings
  4. 04Georgia-Pacific3 postings
  5. 05Hood Distribution3 postings
  6. 06Hood Industries3 postings
  7. 07Merritt And Co3 postings
  8. 08Tops Staffing3 postings
  9. 09Cabinet Outsource2 postings
  10. 10Century Furniture2 postings
  11. 11Express Employment Professionals2 postings
  12. 12Focus Workforce Management2 postings
  13. 13Koch Capabilities2 postings
  14. 14MillerKnoll2 postings
  15. 15Monterey Boats2 postings
  16. 16Pivotal Health Solutions2 postings
  17. 17S F Gilmore2 postings
  18. 18Span-America2 postings
  19. 19Workrite Ergonomics2 postings
  20. 20AdventHealth1 postings

Keep looking

Related careers

Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders

Median pay
$46,467
Employment outlook
+0.5%

Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers

Median pay
$65,331
Employment outlook
−7.4%

Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate

Median pay
$68,507
Employment outlook
−2.3%

Appraisers of Personal and Business Property

Median pay
$68,507
Employment outlook
−2.3%