As of June 2026, Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing has an AI-exposure score of 41/100 (Moderate exposure) on the AI-Safe Careers index, blending O*NET tasks, the Anthropic Economic Index, the Penn/OpenAI study, and BLS data. This is an estimate of task exposure, not a prediction of job loss.

AI Exposure Score for

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

41/100
Moderate exposure
LowModerateElevatedHighVery High

More exposed than 13% of the roles we track. Median pay ~US$43,380. About 6,400 projected openings a year (BLS 2024–34 — growth plus replacement).

Pay & demand figures are US medians (BLS, in USD) — your local figures will differ. Your exposure score applies broadly.

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How you compare to similar Production roles

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing (you)
41
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
41
Timing Device Assemblers and Adjusters
41
Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers
41
Foundry Mold and Coremakers
41
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
41
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Your tasks, by AI exposure

Automatable

No automatable tasks identified for this role — its real, individually-assessed tasks consistently read as augmentable (85%).

Augmentable
  • Trim wood parts according to specifications, using planes, chisels, or wood files or sanders.
  • Grease or oil woodworking machines.
  • Clean or maintain products, machines, or work areas.
  • Select knives, saws, blades, cutter heads, cams, bits, or belts, according to workpiece, machine functions, or product specifications.
  • Monitor operation of machines and make adjustments to correct problems and ensure conformance to specifications.
  • Attach and adjust guides, stops, clamps, chucks, or feed mechanisms, using hand tools.
  • Install and adjust blades, cutterheads, boring-bits, or sanding-belts, using hand tools and rules.
  • Feed stock through feed mechanisms or conveyors into planing, shaping, boring, mortising, or sanding machines to produce desired components.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Determine product specifications and materials, work methods, and machine setup requirements, according to blueprints, oral or written instructions, drawings, or work orders.
  • 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.
  • Remove and replace worn parts, bits, belts, sandpaper, or shaping tools.
  • Examine raw woodstock for defects and to ensure conformity to size and other specification standards.
  • Start machines, adjust controls, and make trial cuts to ensure that machinery is operating properly.
  • Inspect pulleys, drive belts, guards, or fences on machines to ensure that machines will operate safely.
Durable
  • Push or hold workpieces against, under, or through cutting, boring, or shaping mechanisms.
  • Set up, program, operate, or tend computerized or manual woodworking machines, such as drill presses, lathes, shapers, routers, sanders, planers, or wood-nailing machines.
  • 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.

Safer adjacent roles

Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
80% skills overlap · Moderate exposure · ~US$42,770
40
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
72% skills overlap · Elevated exposure · ~US$46,570
53
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
64% skills overlap · Moderate exposure · ~US$50,620
48
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
48% skills overlap · Elevated exposure · ~US$52,800
50
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
40% skills overlap · Moderate exposure · ~US$46,330
46
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
40% skills overlap · Elevated exposure · ~US$47,180
58
Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
40% skills overlap · Elevated exposure · ~US$38,760
49

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Important: This is an estimate of AI exposure, not a prediction that your job will disappear. It is designed to help you understand how your role may change and improve your career resilience.