A professional who sets up and operates rotary lathe to cut veneer from logs. Responsibilities include:

• Selects and installs knives and adjusts gears of knife-feeding mechanism according to specified thickness of veneer to be cut, using handtools.
• Signals lathe spotter to position log between chucks of lathe and pushes lever or button to drive chucks into log.
• Pulls lever to set lathe knife to cut veneer to specified thickness and to start log rotating.
• Verifies thickness of veneer with ruler or caliper and adjusts speed of knife-feeding mechanism and turning speed of lathe accordingly.
• Pushes chuck control to release log core onto conveyor.
• May stop machine and tilt blade away from log when machine becomes clogged with slivers or bark.
• May replace dull knives and broken or worn parts, using handtools.
• May set up and operate back-roll lathe to cut veneer stock to specified lengths and widths for manufacture of wirebound boxes and baskets and be designated back-roll-lathe operator.