AI Risk Logo

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

Medium44.55%
Found in Industries:
Salary Range
Low (10th %)$29,620
Median$38,260
High (90th %)$52,280

AI Prompt Guides for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

Unlock expert prompt guides tailored for this Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing. Get strategies to boost your productivity and results with AI.

AI Prompt Tool for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

Experiment with and customize AI prompts designed for this occupation. Try, edit, and save prompts for your workflow.

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.

The occupation "Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing" has an automation risk of 44.5%, closely tied to its base risk of 45.0%. The relatively moderate automation risk indicates that while a significant portion of tasks can potentially be automated, there remain several duties within the role that currently require human involvement. Advancements in robotics and manufacturing software have enabled machines to handle many aspects of woodworking with increasing precision and efficiency, but the nuanced requirements of individualized or small-batch production continue to necessitate skilled operators. The most automatable tasks in this occupation involve the direct setup, programming, and operation of both computerized and manual woodworking machinery, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, and planers. Tasks like examining finished workpieces for conformity using visual inspections or measuring tools, as well as starting machines, adjusting controls, and making trial cuts, are increasingly subject to automation through advancements in sensors and AI-driven quality control systems. These activities, which are repetitive and rule-based, can be effectively managed by machines equipped with sophisticated process monitoring and adjustment capabilities. However, certain responsibilities remain more resistant to automation. For example, controlling hoists to move parts or products from work stations involves spatial judgment and adaptability, which are challenging for machines to replicate reliably. Similarly, setting up, programming, or controlling CAD or CNC machines often calls for problem-solving and on-the-fly adjustments, as does operating gluing machines for precise assembly and veneer application. The most significant bottleneck skill for this occupation is originality, rated at 2.0%; this low percentage indicates that the job does not heavily rely on creative thinking, further exposing many tasks to automation, though not all aspects are likely to be replaced soon due to the need for hands-on expertise and real-time troubleshooting.

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

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or MaterialsMonitoring Processes, Materials, or SurroundingsEstimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or InformationGetting InformationIdentifying Objects, Actions, and EventsJudging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or PeopleProcessing InformationEvaluating Information to Determine Compliance with StandardsAnalyzing Data or InformationMaking Decisions and Solving ProblemsThinking CreativelyUpdating and Using Relevant KnowledgeHandling and Moving ObjectsControlling Machines and ProcessesOperating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or EquipmentWorking with ComputersRepairing and Maintaining Electronic EquipmentDocumenting/Recording InformationDrafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and EquipmentInterpreting the Meaning of Information for OthersCommunicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesCommunicating with People Outside the OrganizationEstablishing and Maintaining Interpersonal RelationshipsOrganizing, Planning, and Prioritizing WorkAssisting and Caring for OthersSelling or Influencing OthersRepairing and Maintaining Mechanical EquipmentResolving Conflicts and Negotiating with OthersPerforming for or Working Directly with the PublicCoordinating the Work and Activities of OthersDeveloping and Building TeamsTraining and Teaching OthersGuiding, Directing, and Motivating SubordinatesCoaching and Developing OthersProviding Consultation and Advice to OthersPerforming Administrative ActivitiesStaffing Organizational UnitsMonitoring and Controlling ResourcesDeveloping Objectives and StrategiesScheduling Work and ActivitiesPerforming General Physical Activities

Industrial Machinery Mechanics
Medium49.31%
Repair, install, adjust, or maintain industrial production and processing machinery or refinery and pipeline distribution systems. May also install, dismantle, or move machinery and heavy equipment according to plans.
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium34.24%
Set up, operate, or tend forging machines to taper, shape, or form metal or plastic parts.
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium48.15%
Set up, operate, or tend machines to roll steel or plastic forming bends, beads, knurls, rolls, or plate, or to flatten, temper, or reduce gauge of material.
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium33.25%
Set up, operate, or tend machines to saw, cut, shear, slit, punch, crimp, notch, bend, or straighten metal or plastic material.
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium34.93%
Set up, operate, or tend drilling machines to drill, bore, ream, mill, or countersink metal or plastic work pieces.
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium38.52%
Set up, operate, or tend grinding and related tools that remove excess material or burrs from surfaces, sharpen edges or corners, or buff, hone, or polish metal or plastic work pieces.
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium35.75%
Set up, operate, or tend lathe and turning machines to turn, bore, thread, form, or face metal or plastic materials, such as wire, rod, or bar stock.
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium47.82%
Set up, operate, or tend milling or planing machines to mill, plane, shape, groove, or profile metal or plastic work pieces.
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium44.70%
Set up, operate, or tend more than one type of cutting or forming machine tool or robot.
Tool and Die Makers
Medium42.07%
Analyze specifications, lay out metal stock, set up and operate machine tools, and fit and assemble parts to make and repair dies, cutting tools, jigs, fixtures, gauges, and machinists' hand tools.
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
Medium39.82%
Perform precision smoothing, sharpening, polishing, or grinding of metal objects.
Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders
Medium41.68%
Operate or tend a variety of machines to join, decorate, reinforce, or finish shoes and shoe parts.
Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium50.87%
Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut textiles.
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
Medium37.16%
Set up, operate, or tend wood sawing machines. May operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment. Includes lead sawyers.
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium57.80%
Set up, operate, or tend machines to crush, grind, or polish materials, such as coal, glass, grain, stone, food, or rubber.
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
Medium40.69%
Grind, sand, or polish, using hand tools or hand-held power tools, a variety of metal, wood, stone, clay, plastic, or glass objects. Includes chippers, buffers, and finishers.
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
Medium56.41%
Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium44.55%
Set up, operate, or tend machines that cut or slice materials, such as glass, stone, cork, rubber, tobacco, food, paper, or insulating material.
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium44.16%
Set up, operate, or tend paper goods machines that perform a variety of functions, such as converting, sawing, corrugating, banding, wrapping, boxing, stitching, forming, or sealing paper or paperboard sheets into products.
Machine Feeders and Offbearers
High66.68%
Feed materials into or remove materials from machines or equipment that is automatic or tended by other workers.
Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Low12.36%
Using sophisticated climbing and rigging techniques, cut away dead or excess branches from trees or shrubs to maintain right-of-way for roads, sidewalks, or utilities, or to improve appearance, health, and value of tree. Prune or treat trees or shrubs using handsaws, hand pruners, clippers, and power pruners. Works off the ground in the tree canopy and may use truck-mounted lifts.
Agricultural Equipment Operators
Medium49.56%
Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.
Fallers
Low19.26%
Use axes or chainsaws to fell trees using knowledge of tree characteristics and cutting techniques to control direction of fall and minimize tree damage.
Logging Equipment Operators
Medium49.47%
Drive logging tractor or wheeled vehicle equipped with one or more accessories, such as bulldozer blade, frontal shear, grapple, logging arch, cable winches, hoisting rack, or crane boom, to fell tree; to skid, load, unload, or stack logs; or to pull stumps or clear brush. Includes operating stand-alone logging machines, such as log chippers.
Log Graders and Scalers
Medium49.42%
Grade logs or estimate the marketable content or value of logs or pulpwood in sorting yards, millpond, log deck, or similar locations. Inspect logs for defects or measure logs to determine volume.
Floor Sanders and Finishers
Low14.14%
Scrape and sand wooden floors to smooth surfaces using floor scraper and floor sanding machine, and apply coats of finish.
Construction Laborers
Low21.08%
Perform tasks involving physical labor at construction sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, and clean up rubble, debris, and other waste materials. May assist other craft workers.
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
Low27.26%
Operate equipment used for applying concrete, asphalt, or other materials to road beds, parking lots, or airport runways and taxiways or for tamping gravel, dirt, or other materials. Includes concrete and asphalt paving machine operators, form tampers, tamping machine operators, and stone spreader operators.
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers
Low6.66%
Apply plasterboard or other wallboard to ceilings or interior walls of buildings. Apply or mount acoustical tiles or blocks, strips, or sheets of shock-absorbing materials to ceilings and walls of buildings to reduce or reflect sound. Materials may be of decorative quality. Includes lathers who fasten wooden, metal, or rockboard lath to walls, ceilings, or partitions of buildings to provide support base for plaster, fireproofing, or acoustical material.
Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers
Low10.60%
Position and secure steel bars or mesh in concrete forms in order to reinforce concrete. Use a variety of fasteners, rod-bending machines, blowtorches, and hand tools. Includes rod busters.
Sheet Metal Workers
Low29.90%
Fabricate, assemble, install, and repair sheet metal products and equipment, such as ducts, control boxes, drainpipes, and furnace casings. Work may involve any of the following: setting up and operating fabricating machines to cut, bend, and straighten sheet metal; shaping metal over anvils, blocks, or forms using hammer; operating soldering and welding equipment to join sheet metal parts; or inspecting, assembling, and smoothing seams and joints of burred surfaces. Includes sheet metal duct installers who install prefabricated sheet metal ducts used for heating, air conditioning, or other purposes.
Structural Iron and Steel Workers
Low11.69%
Raise, place, and unite iron or steel girders, columns, and other structural members to form completed structures or structural frameworks. May erect metal storage tanks and assemble prefabricated metal buildings.
Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas
Low27.15%
Set up or operate a variety of drills to remove underground oil and gas, or remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.
Excavating and Loading Machine and Dragline Operators, Surface Mining
Medium34.02%
Operate or tend machinery at surface mining site, equipped with scoops, shovels, or buckets to excavate and load loose materials.
Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
Medium37.50%
Operate a variety of drills such as rotary, churn, and pneumatic to tap subsurface water and salt deposits, to remove core samples during mineral exploration or soil testing, and to facilitate the use of explosives in mining or construction. Includes horizontal and earth boring machine operators.
Roof Bolters, Mining
Low17.67%
Operate machinery to install roof support bolts in underground mine.
Rock Splitters, Quarry
Low16.50%
Separate blocks of rough dimension stone from quarry mass using jackhammers, wedges, or chop saws.
Maintenance Workers, Machinery
Low32.98%
Lubricate machinery, change parts, or perform other routine machinery maintenance.
Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons
Low9.90%
Build or repair equipment such as furnaces, kilns, cupolas, boilers, converters, ladles, soaking pits, and ovens, using refractory materials.
Riggers
Low19.42%
Set up or repair rigging for construction projects, manufacturing plants, logging yards, ships and shipyards, or for the entertainment industry.
Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers
Medium42.90%
Wind wire coils used in electrical components, such as resistors and transformers, and in electrical equipment and instruments, such as field cores, bobbins, armature cores, electrical motors, generators, and control equipment.
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
Low25.88%
Fabricate, position, align, and fit parts of structural metal products.
Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators
Low26.26%
Laminate layers of fiberglass on molds to form boat decks and hulls, bodies for golf carts, automobiles, or other products.
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium58.74%
Set up, operate, or tend machines to extrude or draw thermoplastic or metal materials into tubes, rods, hoses, wire, bars, or structural shapes.
Machinists
Medium41.66%
Set up and operate a variety of machine tools to produce precision parts and instruments out of metal. Includes precision instrument makers who fabricate, modify, or repair mechanical instruments. May also fabricate and modify parts to make or repair machine tools or maintain industrial machines, applying knowledge of mechanics, mathematics, metal properties, layout, and machining procedures.
Foundry Mold and Coremakers
Medium45.76%
Make or form wax or sand cores or molds used in the production of metal castings in foundries.
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Medium43.49%
Set up, operate, or tend metal or plastic molding, casting, or coremaking machines to mold or cast metal or thermoplastic parts or products.
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers
Medium34.63%
Use hand-welding, flame-cutting, hand-soldering, or brazing equipment to weld or join metal components or to fill holes, indentations, or seams of fabricated metal products.
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium47.79%
Set up, operate, or tend welding, soldering, or brazing machines or robots that weld, braze, solder, or heat treat metal products, components, or assemblies. Includes workers who operate laser cutters or laser-beam machines.
Print Binding and Finishing Workers
Low26.68%
Bind books and other publications or finish printed products by hand or machine. May set up binding and finishing machines.
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Low22.15%
Press or shape articles by hand or machine.
Sewing Machine Operators
Medium33.40%
Operate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.
Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers
Low22.86%
Construct, decorate, or repair leather and leather-like products, such as luggage, shoes, and saddles. May use hand tools.
Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium52.16%
Set up, operate, or tend machines that knit, loop, weave, or draw in textiles.
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium51.65%
Set up, operate, or tend machines that wind or twist textiles; or draw out and combine sliver, such as wool, hemp, or synthetic fibers. Includes slubber machine and drawing frame operators.
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers
Medium46.54%
Set up, operate, or tend machines that extrude and form continuous filaments from synthetic materials, such as liquid polymer, rayon, and fiberglass.
Upholsterers
Low20.15%
Make, repair, or replace upholstery for household furniture or transportation vehicles.
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters
Low29.58%
Cut, shape, and assemble wooden articles or set up and operate a variety of woodworking machines, such as power saws, jointers, and mortisers to surface, cut, or shape lumber or to fabricate parts for wood products.
Furniture Finishers
Low24.64%
Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish.
Model Makers, Wood
Medium42.20%
Construct full-size and scale wooden precision models of products. Includes wood jig builders and loft workers.
Patternmakers, Wood
Medium48.09%
Plan, lay out, and construct wooden unit or sectional patterns used in forming sand molds for castings.
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
Medium57.10%
Set up, operate, or tend machines, such as glass-forming machines, plodder machines, and tuber machines, to shape and form products such as glassware, food, rubber, soap, brick, tile, clay, wax, tobacco, or cosmetics.
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians
Medium42.63%
Cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. Assemble and mount lenses into frames or process other optical elements. Includes precision lens polishers or grinders, centerer-edgers, and lens mounters.
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
Medium61.82%
Operate or tend machines to prepare industrial or consumer products for storage or shipment. Includes cannery workers who pack food products.
Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators
Medium58.43%
Operate computer-controlled tools, machines, or robots to machine or process parts, tools, or other work pieces made of metal, plastic, wood, stone, or other materials. May also set up and maintain equipment.
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders
Medium51.08%
Operate or tend bonding machines that use adhesives to join items for further processing or to form a completed product. Processes include joining veneer sheets into plywood; gluing paper; or joining rubber and rubberized fabric parts, plastic, simulated leather, or other materials.
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic
Medium44.30%
Mold, shape, form, cast, or carve products such as food products, figurines, tile, pipes, and candles consisting of clay, glass, plaster, concrete, stone, or combinations of materials.
Stone Cutters and Carvers, Manufacturing
Low13.87%
Cut or carve stone according to diagrams and patterns.
Glass Blowers, Molders, Benders, and Finishers
Medium36.98%
Shape molten glass according to patterns.
Helpers--Production Workers
Medium60.30%
Help production workers by performing duties requiring less skill. Duties include supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.
Crane and Tower Operators
Medium38.20%
Operate mechanical boom and cable or tower and cable equipment to lift and move materials, machines, or products in many directions.
Hoist and Winch Operators
Low24.71%
Operate or tend hoists or winches to lift and pull loads using power-operated cable equipment.
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
Medium36.17%
Manually move freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or perform other general labor. Includes all manual laborers not elsewhere classified.
Packers and Packagers, Hand
Medium58.01%
Pack or package by hand a wide variety of products and materials.

AI Readiness Accelerator

A practical course designed for small and medium businesses to master AI and automation. Learn how to identify opportunities, implement AI tools, and streamline your operations for a future-proof business. No technical background required!

Learn More

AI Prompt Guides

Unlock industry- and job-specific prompt guides to get the most out of AI tools. Our guides are tailored for your sector and role, helping you craft effective prompts for real-world results. Stay ahead with expert strategies!

Browse Guides

AI Prompt Tool

Find, try, and share expert prompts and automations for key jobs and tasks. Access a growing library from our experts and the community, and test prompts with your own data. Discover new ways to automate and innovate!

Try the Tool