Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood

Wages
In 2015, the average annual wage in a Alabama was $23,680 with most people making betweeen $16,750 and $38,010
Wages by Industry
  • Sawmills and Wood Preservation $28,630.00
  • Other Wood Product Manufacturing $25,520.00
  • Veneer, Plywood, and Engineered Wood Product Manufacturing $28,010.00
  • Household and Institutional Furniture and Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturing $28,130.00
  • Lumber and Other Construction Materials Merchant Wholesalers $25,190.00
  • Office Furniture (including Fixtures) Manufacturing $25,350.00
Education Required
These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Common Majors
  • Cabinetmaking and Millwork
About the job

Set up, operate, or tend wood sawing machines. May operate CNC equipment. Includes lead sawyers.

What you'll do
    • Cut grooves, bevels, or miters, saw curved or irregular designs, and sever or shape metals, according to specifications or work orders.
    • Dispose of waste material after completing work assignments.
    • Examine blueprints, drawings, work orders, or patterns to determine equipment set-up or selection details, procedures to be used, or dimensions of final products.
    • 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.
    • Position and clamp stock on tables, conveyors, or carriages, using hoists, guides, stops, dogs, wedges, or wrenches.
    • 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.
    • Unclamp and remove finished workpieces from tables.
    • Unload and roll logs from trucks to sawmill decks or to carriages or move logs in ponds, using pike poles.
Things you need to know
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • 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.
Abilities you'll need to have
    • Operation Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
    • Operation and Control - Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
    • Troubleshooting - Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
    • 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.
    • Equipment Maintenance - Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.