Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
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.
Most important skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Operation and Control
- Quality Control Analysis
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Equipment Maintenance
- Troubleshooting
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- Public Safety and Security
- Building and Construction
- Education and Training
- Design
- English Language
What the work involves
- Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly.
- 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.
- Adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations.
- Monitor operation of machines and make adjustments to correct problems and ensure conformance to specifications.
- Set up, program, operate, or tend computerized or manual woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, or wood-nailing machines.
- Select knives, saws, blades, cutter heads, cams, bits, or belts, according to workpiece, machine functions, or product specifications.
- 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.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Conventional, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (73.1% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 3 months, up to and including 6 months (25.9%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (33.3%)
- 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 Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing 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 | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 92% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very low | Lower on dealing with the public than 87% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all” |
| Teamwork | Moderate | Lower on teamwork than 56% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 79% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Higher on time pressure than 58% of occupations compared | 49% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 67% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 50% of occupations compared | 28% of surveyed respondents chose “Never” |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 59% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: moderate
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: 6.2%
- Occasional contact with others: 26.01%
- Contact with others about half the time: 8.63%
- Contact with others most of the time: 16.16%
- Constant contact with others: 43%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2015
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 46.47%
- Fairly important: 15.8%
- Important: 10.77%
- Very important: 16.74%
- Extremely important: 10.22%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2015
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 1.21%
- Fairly important: 2.5%
- Important: 18.58%
- Very important: 31.97%
- Extremely important: 45.74%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2015
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 17.33%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 7.45%
- Some freedom: 40.47%
- A lot of freedom: 34.74%
n = 28, Incumbent 07/2015
Time pressure
- Never: 9.23%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 4.43%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.11%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 21.39%
- Every day: 48.83%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2015
Conflict situations
- Never: 34.46%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 19.51%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 17.75%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 10.14%
- Every day: 18.14%
n = 30, Incumbent 07/2015
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 27.95%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 17.89%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 26.53%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 5.86%
- Every day: 21.77%
n = 31, Incumbent 07/2015
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 29.09%
- Fairly serious: 21.28%
- Serious: 13.63%
- Very serious: 12.13%
- Extremely serious: 23.86%
n = 28, Incumbent 07/2015
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O*NET-SOC 51-7042.00 · SOC 51-7042 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8