Furniture Maker
What the work is
Fabricates and repairs freestanding furniture from timber, veneers, laminates and cane.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Examines drawings, work orders and sample parts to determine specifications
- Selects and works with materials such as timber, veneers, particle board, synthetic wood and other engineered wood products
- Assembles parts to form sections of cabinets and furniture and completed articles
- Fits hinges, locks, catches, drawers, shelves and other associated hardware
- Makes frames for chairs and couches
- Applies protective coatings to cabinets and furniture
- May repair and refurbish furniture, including antiques
- May make reproduction furniture
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a cabinet and furniture workshop with a machine room and a finishing bay. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A drawer slides shut with a soft, even sound that tells you it is right
- You run your hand along a finished tabletop and cannot find a single flaw
- A customer collects a frame and says it makes the picture look better than the picture is
Hard days
- Dust, noise and ear protection for a whole shift on a big order
- A beautiful board that turns out to have a flaw in it after you have cut it
- A customer who changes the measurements after the timber is already cut
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 399532, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.