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What does a sander do?

Updated January 8, 2025
5 min read
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Sander responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real sander resumes:

  • Smooth surface of wooden articles prior to finishing and between finish coats, using sandpaper and steel wool.
  • Operate forklift and CNC machine.
  • Operate Pratt and Whitney CNC machines.
  • Apply bondo, glazing, and stain to cabinets.
  • Measure, mark, and mask areas to be exclude from plating.
  • Load frac sand into pneumatic trailers via a sub-rail at serpentine transloader.
  • Operate sanding equipment: drum sander, poly-vacc, edger, etc.
  • Maintain on frac pumps; as well as mandatory usage of sand kings.
  • Inspect pulleys, drive belts, guards, and fences on machines to ensure that machines will operate safely.
  • Dig postholes, using spades, posthole diggers, or power-driven augers.

Sander skills and personality traits

We calculated that 14% of Sanders are proficient in Assembly Line, Cabinet Doors, and Shop Safety. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Math skills, and Dexterity.

We break down the percentage of Sanders that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Assembly Line, 14%

    Worked on a moving assembly line with bedroom furniture* Selected furniture pieces from assembly-line, sanded corners until smooth.

  • Cabinet Doors, 14%

    Sanded all cabinet doors and panels to company specifications

  • Shop Safety, 13%

    Promoted shop safety by working in a safe manner.

  • Bondo, 12%

    Wet sanding, dent pulling, bondo work, fiberglass work, metal grinding.

  • Coats, 8%

    Applied Stains as well as Seal Coats, Second Coats and Final Coats Operated tools such as.

  • Safety Procedures, 8%

    Train newemployees how to properly use tools required for theirplacement and the safety procedures of each.

"assembly line," "cabinet doors," and "shop safety" are among the most common skills that sanders use at work. You can find even more sander responsibilities below, including:

Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a sander to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "woodworkers must pay attention to details in order to meet specifications and to keep themselves safe." Sanders often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "hand sanded bumpers for final inspection, paying close attention to detail. "

Dexterity. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of sanders is dexterity. This skill is critical to many everyday sander duties, as "woodworkers must make precise cuts with a variety of handtools and power tools, so they need good hand-eye coordination." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "operated forklift and cnc machine. "

Mechanical skills. For certain sander responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "mechanical skills." The day-to-day duties of a sander rely on this skill, as "the use of handtools, such as screwdrivers and wrenches, is required to set up, adjust, and calibrate machines." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what sanders do: "needle gunned, hand sanded, and mechanical sanded surface before final painting was required. "

See the full list of sander skills

The three companies that hire the most sanders are:

Compare different sanders

Sander vs. Chipper

The annual salary of chippers is $2,509 lower than the average salary of sanders.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between sanders and chipper. For instance, sander responsibilities require skills such as "cabinet doors," "shop safety," "bondo," and "coats." Whereas a chipper is skilled in "grinders," "safety standards," "grinding wheels," and "chipping hammers." This is part of what separates the two careers.

The education levels that chippers earn slightly differ from sanders. In particular, chippers are 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a sander. Additionally, they're 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Sander vs. Grinder chipper

A career as a grinder chipper brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a sander. In fact, grinder chippers salary is $1,456 higher than the salary of sanders per year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both sanders and grinder chippers have skills such as "assembly line," "safety procedures," and "ran. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real sander resumes. While sander responsibilities can utilize skills like "cabinet doors," "shop safety," "bondo," and "coats," grinder chippers use skills like "grinders," "air tools," "cranes," and "safety regulations."

In general, grinder chippers achieve similar levels of education than sanders. They're 1.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Sander vs. Hand stone polisher

On average scale, hand stone polishers bring in lower salaries than sanders. In fact, they earn a $436 lower salary per year.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from sander resumes include skills like "assembly line," "cabinet doors," "shop safety," and "bondo," whereas a hand stone polisher is more likely to list skills in "schedule appointments," "front desk," "spa services," and "booking. "

Hand stone polishers typically earn similar educational levels compared to sanders. Specifically, they're 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Sander vs. Hand tool filer

Hand tool filers typically earn higher pay than sanders. On average, hand tool filers earn a $329 higher salary per year.While their salaries may vary, sanders and hand tool filers both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "assembly line," "shop safety," and "cnc. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between sanders and hand tool filers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a sander might have more use for skills like "cabinet doors," "bondo," "coats," and "safety procedures." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of hand tool filers require skills like "hand tools," "power tools," "jan," and "mowing. "

The average resume of hand tool filers showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to sanders. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 2.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.3%.

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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