| Skill | What it means | Level needed |
|---|
| Follows woodworking shop safety rules, using required PPE and machine guards and staying aware of kickback, dust and fire hazards. | |
| Keeps the workstation and its machines in running order, emptying dust collection, wiping down and oiling equipment, and tagging and reporting anything that is not running right. | |
| Reads work orders, stock bills and cut lists to pull the right material and parts and run the right quantities for the job. | |
| Reads cabinet shop drawings, including plan, elevation and section views, dimensions and symbols, to know what the finished part or case must look like. | |
| Measures and checks part dimensions with tapes, rules, squares and calipers so parts match the cut list before they move on. | |
| Uses shop math with fractions, decimals and simple geometry to work out part sizes, quantities and sheet yield. | |
| Identifies common hardwoods, softwoods and sheet goods such as plywood, MDF, particleboard and melamine, and picks stock that meets the job's grade and moisture requirements. | |
| Marks out part outlines, joint locations and machining references on lumber and panel stock from the drawing or issued cut list, placing parts around knots and defects so the stock yields what the job needs. | |
| Uses bench hand tools such as planes, chisels, scrapers and files for fitting, trimming and clean-up work, keeping them clean and stored and flagging an edge that has gone dull. | |
| Safely operates portable power tools including routers, sanders, drills, nailers and portable saws for cutting, boring and fastening tasks. | |
| Operates stationary saws such as the table saw, miter saw, band saw and panel saw to an established setup, including safe blade changes, producing parts to the cut list. | |
| Runs stock preparation and shaping machines including the jointer, planer, shaper and router table to an established setup, feeding stock correctly to produce parts to size. | |
| Tends CNC nested routers and point-to-point boring machines by loading panels, starting programmed cycles, offloading and labeling parts, and checking them against the drawing. | |
| Sands parts and assemblies by machine and hand through the grit sequence so surfaces are flat, scratch-free and ready for finish. | |
| Runs an edgebander to an established setup, feeding panels, monitoring glue bond and trim quality, and touching up edges by hand. | |
| Selects and applies the right adhesive for the joint and clamps assemblies square, cleaning glue squeeze-out before it cures. | |
| Cuts and fits common cabinet joints including dado, rabbet, dowel, biscuit and pocket-screw joints so they close tight and square. | |
| Assembles cabinet cases and face frames on the bench or case clamp using dowels, confirmat screws and fasteners, keeping cases square. | |
| Assembles and fits doors and drawer boxes, hanging and adjusting them for even gaps and smooth operation. | |
| Locates, bores for and installs cabinet hardware such as hinges, drawer slides and pulls using jigs so hardware lines up and operates correctly. | |
| Applies plastic laminate and wood veneer to panels and countertops with contact adhesive and trims the edges flush. | |
| Applies stain, sealer and topcoat by spray gun or by hand in a booth, following the finish schedule and handling finishing materials safely. | |
| Inspects own parts and finished units against the drawing and quality checklist, tagging defects and telling the lead before work moves on. | |
| Moves and stages sheet goods and large panels safely at the workstation using carts, lift aids and two-person lifts. | |
| Protects finished surfaces during assembly, staging and wrap-up by padding, wrapping and stacking so cases hand off to shipping without damage. | |
Oregon publishes ten employability skills, the same statewide. Tick the three that matter most for this job.
Optional. This is where a skill list becomes hireable: what you look for, in your words.
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