What Does a Cabinet Maker Do?
Cabinetry is judged years later, by drawers that still close and doors that still hang straight. Cabinet makers build kitchen runs, built-in storage and lab benches in a woodshop, then fit them in homes, offices and schools with joints and finishes that stand up to slamming, scrubbing and spills.
Cabinet Maker Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a cabinet maker include:
- Read shop drawings and cut lists, and confirm measurements on site before building.
- Cut plywood, hardwood and melamine panels on table saws, panel saws or a CNC router.
- Join case parts with dadoes, dowels, pocket screws or mortise-and-tenon joints.
- Band panel edges, drill hinge holes and fit drawer slides, pulls and shelf pins.
- Sand, stain and spray lacquer or conversion varnish in a ventilated finishing booth.
- Install finished cabinets, countertops and built-in shelving, trimming them to fit uneven walls and floors.
- Repair or refinish worn casework, lab benches and display cases in offices and classrooms.
- Sharpen blades and bits, and keep saws, jointers and planers tuned and guarded.
- Estimate board feet, sheet goods and hardware for each job and order whatever is short.
- Build custom pieces from rough sketches when no formal drawings exist.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a cabinet maker, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Accurate measuring with tape, square and calipers
- Table saw, jointer, planer and router skills
- CNC router operation and cabinet software such as Cabinet Vision
- Spray finishing and color matching
- Knowledge of wood species, sheet goods and hardware
- Patience for fine joinery and fitting
- Safe habits around blades and dust
- Reading shop drawings and elevations
Education and Training
Shop owners like to see photos of finished pieces, so keep a record of everything you build. Bench work under an experienced maker is how the trade is passed on, often starting in a helper's job after high school. Woodworking classes at a community college are a good way to sharpen skills and start a portfolio.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $38,830 - $55,760 per year, with a median of $46,680.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters.
BLS projects employment of cabinetmakers and bench carpenters to decline about 3 percent from 2025 to 2035. That is a slow decline, and the same projections still show roughly 6,900 openings a year as experienced makers retire. Work tends to follow home building and remodeling, especially in custom shops, and makers who can both program a CNC router and finish by hand find it easier to stay busy.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters.