woodturner
Woodturners use a lathe to remove superfluous material from wood. The lathe turns the workpiece around its axis, as shape tools are used to obtain the desired shape.
woodturner woodturners use a lathe to remove superfluous material from wood. The lathe turns the workpiece around its axis, as shape tools are used to obtain the desired shape. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include woodworking processes, types of lathe tools, woodworking tools, design principles, lathe machine parts.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £30,360 a year for Paper and wood machine operatives (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 8131). ONS rates this estimate reasonably precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Craft and related trades workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only woodturner, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 7. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Production and Processing
- Mechanical
- Engineering and Technology
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
- Customer and Personal Service
- English Language
- Mathematics
What you'd actually do
- Adjust machine controls and change tool settings to keep dimensions within specified tolerances.
- Move controls to set cutting speeds and depths and feed rates, and to position tools in relation to workpieces.
- Study blueprints, layouts or charts, and job orders for information on specifications and tooling instructions, and to determine material requirements and operational sequences.
- Inspect sample workpieces to verify conformance with specifications, using instruments such as gauges, micrometers, and dial indicators.
- Replace worn tools, and sharpen dull cutting tools and dies, using bench grinders or cutter-grinding machines.
- Move toolholders manually or by turning handwheels, or engage automatic feeding mechanisms to feed tools to and along workpieces.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does woodturner do?
Woodturners use a lathe to remove superfluous material from wood. The lathe turns the workpiece around its axis, as shape tools are used to obtain the desired shape.
What skills does woodturner need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include woodworking processes, types of lathe tools, woodworking tools, design principles, lathe machine parts, quality standards. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace woodturner?
Our AI-durability model gives woodturner a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.