AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 51-7042.00

Will AI replace Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing?

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing: AI can already handle 1 of 25 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a standard-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 25 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing, from most to least exposed. 1 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
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. 80 Estimated Standard 4.4
Set up, program, operate, or tend computerized or manual woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, or wood-nailing machines. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Feed stock through feed mechanisms or conveyors into planing, shaping, boring, mortising, or sanding machines to produce desired components. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Trim wood parts according to specifications, using planes, chisels, or wood files or sanders. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Set up, program, or control computer-aided design (CAD) or computer numerical control (CNC) machines. 50 Estimated Standard 3.8
Install and adjust blades, cutterheads, boring-bits, or sanding-belts, using hand tools and rules. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.3
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. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.1
Inspect pulleys, drive belts, guards, or fences on machines to ensure that machines will operate safely. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.1
Clean or maintain products, machines, or work areas. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.0
Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly. 15 Estimated No tier 4.4
Monitor operation of machines and make adjustments to correct problems and ensure conformance to specifications. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Examine raw woodstock for defects and to ensure conformity to size and other specification standards. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Adjust machine tables or cutting devices and set controls on machines to produce specified cuts or operations. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Change alignment and adjustment of sanding, cutting, or boring machine guides to prevent defects in finished products, using hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written instructions, drawings, or work orders. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Select knives, saws, blades, cutter heads, cams, bits, or belts, according to workpiece, machine functions, or product specifications. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Push or hold workpieces against, under, or through cutting, boring, or shaping mechanisms. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Remove and replace worn parts, bits, belts, sandpaper, or shaping tools. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
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. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Attach and adjust guides, stops, clamps, chucks, or feed mechanisms, using hand tools. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Unclamp workpieces and remove them from machines. 15 Estimated No tier 4.0
Operate gluing machines to glue pieces of wood together, or to press and affix wood veneer to wood surfaces. 15 Estimated No tier 3.8
Grease or oil woodworking machines. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Control hoists to remove parts or products from work stations. 15 Estimated No tier 3.3
Start machines and move levers to engage hydraulic lifts that press woodstocks into desired forms and disengage lifts after appropriate drying times. 8 Estimated No tier 4.0

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 25 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 25 of 25. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

A standard-tier model or lower covers 36% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 36% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 64% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

US employment
61,420
Median annual wage
$43,380
Middle half of earners
$37,100 to $48,720
Projected change, 2024 to 2034
-1.8%

Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing and AI

Will AI replace Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing?

AI already handles 1 of the 25 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 24 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by -1.8% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing?

24 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 25 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 25 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: 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. It is the only task that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

A standard-tier model or lower covers 36% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 64% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How many people work as Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing, and what do they earn?

61,420 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $43,380 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -1.8% from 2024 to 2034.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/woodworking-machine-setters-operators-and-tenders-except-sawing

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