Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
Set up, operate, or tend wood sawing machines. May operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment. Includes lead sawyers.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Troubleshooting
- Quality Control Analysis
- Active Listening
- Equipment Maintenance
Key knowledge
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Public Safety and Security
- Mathematics
- Education and Training
- English Language
- Design
- Engineering and Technology
What the work involves
- Adjust saw blades, using wrenches and rulers, or by turning handwheels or pressing pedals, levers, or panel buttons.
- Inspect and measure workpieces to mark for cuts and to verify the accuracy of cuts, using rulers, squares, or caliper rules.
- Set up, operate, or tend saws or machines that cut or trim wood to specified dimensions, such as circular saws, band saws, multiple-blade sawing machines, scroll saws, ripsaws, or crozer machines.
- Inspect stock for imperfections or to estimate grades or qualities of stock or workpieces.
- Mount and bolt sawing blades or attachments to machine shafts.
- Monitor sawing machines, adjusting speed and tension and clearing jams to ensure proper operation.
- Guide workpieces against saws, saw over workpieces by hand, or operate automatic feeding devices to guide cuts.
- Sharpen blades, or replace defective or worn blades or bands, using hand tools.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (59.3% of respondents)
- Related experience
- None (34%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (36.7%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 2: Job Zone 1-2: Very Little to Some Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Low | Lower on contact with others than 79% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 99% of occupations compared | 88% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Very low | Lower on teamwork than 84% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 58% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 75% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Very low | Lower on conflict situations than 94% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Very low | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 85% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Low | Lower on consequence of error than 67% of occupations compared | 31% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: very low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: very low
- Consequence of error: low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 2.09%
- Occasional contact with others: 19.43%
- Contact with others about half the time: 11.41%
- Contact with others most of the time: 16.82%
- Constant contact with others: 50.25%
n = 19, Incumbent 07/2013
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 87.77%
- Fairly important: 9.52%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 0%
- Extremely important: 2.72%
n = 18, Incumbent 07/2013
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 10.68%
- Fairly important: 5.43%
- Important: 15.41%
- Very important: 37.56%
- Extremely important: 30.92%
n = 19, Incumbent 07/2013
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 11.49%
- Some freedom: 55.68%
- A lot of freedom: 32.82%
n = 19, Incumbent 07/2013
Time pressure
- Never: 12.57%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 31.38%
- Every day: 56.05%
n = 19, Incumbent 07/2013
Conflict situations
- Never: 39.21%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 33.61%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 14.18%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 10.73%
- Every day: 2.27%
n = 17, Incumbent 07/2013
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 36.64%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 23.53%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 27.38%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 6.93%
- Every day: 5.52%
n = 19, Incumbent 07/2013
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 27.8%
- Fairly serious: 30.68%
- Serious: 12.77%
- Very serious: 6.94%
- Extremely serious: 21.8%
n = 19, Incumbent 07/2013
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O*NET-SOC 51-7041.00 · SOC 51-7041 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8