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Wood machinist

Wood machinists cut and prepare timber for use in wood products.

Potential salary
£16,000 to £28,000
Working hours
41 to 43 a week
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • persistence and determination
  • the ability to work on your own
  • physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
  • the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • concentration skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Your day-to-day duties may include:

  • planning jobs following detailed technical drawings
  • selecting the right type of wood for a particular product
  • working out the amount of timber needed
  • cutting and shaping timber, using tools like saws, planes and routers
  • cleaning workshop tools and servicing equipment
  • using computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment
  • using computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) methods

You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.

You could work in a workshop or at a sawmill.

Your working environment may be dusty, physically demanding and noisy.

With experience, you could progress to a supervisor role, or move into related work like bench joinery, shopfitting or kitchen and bathroom installation.

You can get more details about how to become a wood machinist from Go Construct.

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