Furniture Finishers Occupation Details

General Job Description and Education/Training Levels for Furniture Finishers

The main tasks and work activities of Furniture Finishers are to mix ingredients to create specific finishes, apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products, operate grinding equipment, shape surfaces or edges of wood workpieces. In general, for the Furniture Finishers, monitoring, critical Thinking, active Listening, time Management and other 4 skills are required.

Furniture Finishers Job Description
Education	These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
Related Experience	Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.
Job Training	Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Example	These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, and tellers.

The following chart shows the education/training levels for Furniture Finishers jobs. 61.21% of Furniture Finishers have High School Diploma (or the equivalent) and 3.25% of Furniture Finishers have Post-Secondary Certificate.

Less than a High School Diploma

35.54%

High School Diploma (or the equivalent)

61.21%

Post-Secondary Certificate

3.25%

Some College Courses

0.00%

Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)

0.00%

Bachelor's Degree and Above

0.00%

Tasks and Work Activities of Furniture Finishers

Mix finish ingredients to obtain desired colors or shades.
Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers.
Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grinders.
Select appropriate finishing ingredients such as paint, stain, lacquer, shellac, or varnish, depending on factors such as wood hardness and surface type.
Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws.
Distress surfaces with woodworking tools or abrasives before staining to create an antique appearance, or rub surfaces to bring out highlights and shadings.
Examine furniture to determine the extent of damage or deterioration, and to decide on the best method for repair or restoration.
Paint metal surfaces electrostatically, or by using a spray gun or other painting equipment.
Recommend woods, colors, finishes, and furniture styles, using knowledge of wood products, fashions, and styles.
Remove old finishes and damaged or deteriorated parts, using hand tools, stripping tools, sandpaper, steel wool, abrasives, solvents, or dip baths.
Follow blueprints to produce specific designs.
Disassemble items to prepare them for finishing, using hand tools.
Wash surfaces to prepare them for finish application.
Remove accessories prior to finishing, and mask areas that should not be exposed to finishing processes or substances.
Treat warped or stained surfaces to restore original contours and colors.
Confer with customers to determine furniture colors or finishes.
Replace or refurbish upholstery of items, using tacks, adhesives, softeners, solvents, stains, or polish.
Remove excess solvent, using cloths soaked in paint thinner.
Stencil, gild, emboss, mark, or paint designs or borders to reproduce the original appearance of restored pieces, or to decorate new pieces.
Design, create, and decorate entire pieces or specific parts of furniture, such as draws for cabinets.

Getting InformationObserving, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Making Decisions and Solving ProblemsAnalyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or MaterialInspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Handling and Moving ObjectsUsing hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and EventsIdentifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Performing General Physical ActivitiesPerforming physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or SurroundingsMonitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or PeopleAssessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or SubordinatesProviding information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Updating and Using Relevant KnowledgeKeeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Mix ingredients to create specific finishes.
Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products.
Operate grinding equipment.
Shape surfaces or edges of wood workpieces.
Select production input materials.
Repair furniture or upholstery.
Fill cracks, imperfections, or holes in products or workpieces.
Operate painting or coating equipment.
Advise others on ways to improve processes or products.
Read work orders or other instructions to determine product specifications or materials requirements.
Clean workpieces or finished products.
Remove accessories, tools, or other parts from equipment.
Confer with customers or designers to determine order specifications.

Skills and Abilities for Furniture Finishers

MonitoringMonitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Critical ThinkingUsing logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Active ListeningGiving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Time ManagementManaging one's own time and the time of others.
Judgment and Decision MakingConsidering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Operation MonitoringWatching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
SpeakingTalking to others to convey information effectively.

Near VisionThe ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Visual Color DiscriminationThe ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Arm-Hand SteadinessThe ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Manual DexterityThe ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Control PrecisionThe ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
VisualizationThe ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Selective AttentionThe ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Trunk StrengthThe ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing.
Static StrengthThe ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Multilimb CoordinationThe ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Inductive ReasoningThe ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Finger DexterityThe ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Problem SensitivityThe ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Oral ExpressionThe ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral ComprehensionThe ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Flexibility of ClosureThe ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Dynamic StrengthThe ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Category FlexibilityThe ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Information OrderingThe ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Deductive ReasoningThe ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Hand clampse.g. Adjustable hand clamps
Adjustable wrenchese.g. Adjustable handwrenches
Air compressorse.g. Air compressors
Power nail gunse.g. Automatic nail guns
Drying cabinets or ovense.g. Baking ovens
Tumblers or polisherse.g. Barrel tumblers
Belt sandere.g. Belt sanders
Respiratorse.g. Canister-type face masks
Paint sprayerse.g. Computer numerically control CNC spray painting machines
Power drillse.g. Cordless power drills
Storage tankse.g. Dipping tanks
Power bufferse.g. Electric buffers
Paint sprayerse.g. Electrostatic spray guns
Hammerse.g. Finishing hammers
Cold chiselse.g. Flat cold chisels
Flat hand filee.g. Flat hand files
Paint brushese.g. Grain combs
Sawse.g. Handsaws
Heat gunse.g. Heat guns
Pressure or steam cleanerse.g. High pressure water sprayers

Production and ProcessingKnowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
MechanicalKnowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Furniture Finishers Occupation Detailed Description

Tasks and Work Activities of Furniture Finishers

Skills and Abilities for Furniture Finishers