An official State of Ohio site. Here’s how you know
Contact

Welcome,
New User

User: New User

Date: 07/22/2026

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.

View All

    Work Activities

    Work Activities

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

    Skills

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    Knowledge

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • 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.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • 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.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • 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.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 43930/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 21.12/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 2,620
    • Yearly Projected Openings 240

    Typical Education

    Personality

    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
    • Cautiousness

    Tools

    Technology

    Tags

    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
    Need help on researching occupations and careers? Download the Guide to Researching Occupations (PDF).

    Need help on how to research education and training programs? Download the Guide to Higher Education (PDF).

    Budget Calculator

    Answer a few questions to determine your target salary. Use this target salary to help choose the right occupation for you.

    Lifestyle Calculator

    Answer a few questions to determine your target salary. Use this target salary to help choose the right occupation for you.

    Workforce Supply Tool

    Workforce Supply Tool

    The Workforce Supply Tool provides statistics for the occupations in highest demand throughout Ohio.

    You can view statewide statistics as well as more region specific information.

    Visit Site
    Powered By: