How to hire woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing
A job description you can copy, interview questions tied to the real work, and what to pay. Free.
$20.86U.S. median hourly pay
$37,100–$48,720Middle half, yearly
61,420People in this job in the U.S.
Job description template
Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.
[Job title] at [Company name] [City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range] About the role [Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.] What you will do • Adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations. • Change alignment and adjustment of sanding, cutting, or boring machine guides to prevent defects in finished products, using hand tools. • 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. • 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. • Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly. What you bring • [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any] • [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent] • Strong monitoring, critical thinking and speaking skills • [Anything else you would really turn someone away for] Pay and benefits [Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $20.86 an hour ($43,380 a year). [Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.] How to apply [Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]
Interview questions for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing
Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.
- Tell me about a time you had to adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to change alignment and adjustment of sanding, cutting, or boring machine guides to prevent defects in finished products, using hand tools. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to 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. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- Tell me about a time you had to examine raw woodstock for defects and to ensure conformity to size and other specification standards. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
- How do you keep track of your own work quality during a busy shift or week? Give an example of catching a problem early.
- Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
- Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
- Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?
Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.
What woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing do
- Adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations.
- Change alignment and adjustment of sanding, cutting, or boring machine guides to prevent defects in finished products, using hand tools.
- 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.
- 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.
- Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly.
Skills that matter most
Education, experience and outlook for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing
- Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
- Related work experience most have: 3 to 6 months (O*NET)
- Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
- Job outlook: -2.5% over ten years, declining · about 5,300 openings a year (BLS)
What to pay woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing
Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:
| State | Median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| Washington | $52,980 |
| Minnesota | $51,540 |
| Iowa | $51,200 |
| Oregon | $49,480 |
| Michigan | $47,680 |
| Alabama | $36,750 |
| Tennessee | $35,290 |
| Texas | $33,840 |
See woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing pay in every state
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Post a job freePay by areaJob duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.