Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
51-7041.00

Set up, operate, or tend wood sawing machines. May operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment. Includes lead sawyers.

Sample of reported job titles: Bandmill Operator, Cut Off Saw Operator, Edgerman, Knot Saw Operator, Panel Saw Operator, Planer, Resaw Operator, Rip Saw Operator, Saw Operator, Sawyer

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • Inspect and measure workpieces to mark for cuts and to verify the accuracy of cuts, using rulers, squares, or caliper rules.
  • Adjust saw blades, using wrenches and rulers, or by turning handwheels or pressing pedals, levers, or panel buttons.
  • Mount and bolt sawing blades or attachments to machine shafts.
  • 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.
  • Monitor sawing machines, adjusting speed and tension and clearing jams to ensure proper operation.
  • Sharpen blades, or replace defective or worn blades or bands, using hand tools.
  • Guide workpieces against saws, saw over workpieces by hand, or operate automatic feeding devices to guide cuts.
  • Clear machine jams, using hand tools.
  • Lubricate or clean machines, using wrenches, grease guns, or solvents.
  • Adjust bolts, clamps, stops, guides, or table angles or heights, using hand tools.
  • Examine logs or lumber to plan the best cuts.
  • Trim lumber to straighten rough edges or remove defects, using circular saws.
  • Count, sort, or stack finished workpieces.
  • Position and clamp stock on tables, conveyors, or carriages, using hoists, guides, stops, dogs, wedges, or wrenches.
  • Measure and mark stock for cuts.
  • Operate panelboards of saw or conveyor systems to move stock through processes or to cut stock to specified dimensions.
  • Examine blueprints, drawings, work orders, or patterns to determine equipment set-up or selection details, procedures to be used, or dimensions of final products.
  • Pull tables back against stops and depress pedals to advance cutterheads that shape stock ends.
  • Select saw blades, types or grades of stock, or cutting procedures to be used, according to work orders or supervisors' instructions.
  • Cut grooves, bevels, or miters, saw curved or irregular designs, and sever or shape metals, according to specifications or work orders.
  • Unclamp and remove finished workpieces from tables.
  • Dispose of waste material after completing work assignments.
  • Unload and roll logs from trucks to sawmill decks or to carriages, or move logs in ponds, using pike poles.

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Technology Skills

Hot technology
Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.

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Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment — Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.
  • Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment — Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
  • Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.

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Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — 100% responded “Every day.”
  • Exposed to Hazardous Equipment — 98% responded “Every day.”
  • Exposed to Contaminants — 89% responded “Every day.”
  • Sounds, Noise Levels Are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 89% responded “Every day.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 60% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled — 76% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Standing — 64% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — 61% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions — 72% responded “Every day.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 56% responded “Some freedom.”
  • Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment — 46% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Time Pressure — 56% responded “Every day.”
  • Structured versus Unstructured Work — 46% responded “Some freedom.”
  • Contact With Others — 50% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — 47% responded “More than half the time.”
  • Spend Time Bending or Twisting the Body — 51% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Very Hot or Cold Temperatures — 45% responded “Every day.”
  • Work With Work Group or Team — 38% responded “Very important.”
  • Responsible for Others' Health and Safety — 40% responded “Moderate responsibility.”
  • Responsibility for Outcomes and Results — 47% responded “High responsibility.”
  • Duration of Typical Work Week — 47% responded “40 hours.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 27% responded “Very important results.”
  • Physical Proximity — 43% responded “Moderately close (at arm's length).”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 39% responded “Every day.”
  • Coordinate or Lead Others — 40% responded “Fairly important.”
  • Spend Time Walking and Running — 36% responded “More than half the time.”

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Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Education
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Related Experience
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Job Training
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Job Zone Examples
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
SVP Range
(4.0 to < 6.0)

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Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications

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Apprenticeship Opportunities

Example apprenticeship titles for this occupation:

  • Head Sawyer
  • Pony Edger (Sawmill)

Specific title(s) listed above are vetted by industry and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor for use in a Registered Apprenticeship Program.

Start your career and build your skillset. Visit Apprenticeship.gov external site to learn about opportunities related to this occupation.

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Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Operation and Control — Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
  • Operations Monitoring — Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Quality Control Analysis — Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
  • Troubleshooting — Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

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Knowledge

  • Production and Processing — Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  • Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

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Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 59%
     
    responded: High school diploma or equivalent requiredmore info
  • 22%
     
    responded: Less than high school diploma required
  • 10%
     
    responded: Post-secondary certificate required

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Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Rate Control — The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Reaction Time — The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Multilimb Coordination — The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Stamina — The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Trunk Strength — The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Depth Perception — The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Far Vision — The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Static Strength — The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.

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Interests

Interest code: RC
Want to discover your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler at My Next Move.
  • Realistic — Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

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Work Values

  • Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
  • Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
  • Working Conditions — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.

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Work Styles

  • Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  • Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  • Self-Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  • Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
  • Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical.
  • Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
  • Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
  • Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  • Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
  • Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  • Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
  • Innovation — Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
  • Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
  • Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
  • Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
  • Social Orientation — Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.

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Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2022)
$17.44 hourly, $36,270 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2022)
49,400 employees
Projected growth (2022-2032)
Little or no change
Projected job openings (2022-2032)
5,500
State trends
Top industries (2022)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2022 wage data external site and 2022-2032 employment projections external site. “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2022-2032). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

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Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

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More Information

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Sources of Additional Information

Disclaimer: Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries. Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.

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