Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
51-4194.00
Updated 2025

Perform precision smoothing, sharpening, polishing, or grinding of metal objects.

Sample of reported job titles: Cutter Grinder, Finisher, Grinder, Grinder Operator, OD Grinder Operator (Outer Diameter Grinder Operator), Saw Filer, Tool and Cutter Grinder, Tool Grinder

Occupation-Specific Information

Tasks

  • Monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur.
  • Inspect, feel, and measure workpieces to ensure that surfaces and dimensions meet specifications.
  • Study blueprints or layouts of metal workpieces to determine grinding procedures, and to plan machine setups and operational sequences.
  • Select and mount grinding wheels on machines, according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures.
  • Compute numbers, widths, and angles of cutting tools, micrometers, scales, and gauges, and adjust tools to produce specified cuts.
  • Turn valves to direct flow of coolant against cutting wheels and workpieces during grinding.
  • Set up and operate grinding or polishing machines to grind metal workpieces, such as dies, parts, and tools.
  • Dress grinding wheels, according to specifications.
  • File or finish surfaces of workpieces, using prescribed hand tools.
  • Perform basic maintenance, such as cleaning and lubricating machine parts.
  • Remove finished workpieces from machines and place them in boxes or on racks, setting aside pieces that are defective.
  • Remove and replace worn or broken machine parts, using hand tools.
  • Fit parts together in pre-assembly to ensure that dimensions are accurate.
  • Attach workpieces to grinding machines and form specified sections and repair cracks, using welding or brazing equipment.
  • Duplicate workpiece contours, using tracer attachments.
  • Inspect dies to detect defects, assess wear, and verify specifications, using micrometers, steel gauge pins, and loupes.
  • Place workpieces in electroplating solutions or apply pigments to surfaces of workpieces to highlight ridges and grooves.
  • Straighten workpieces and remove dents, using straightening presses and hammers.
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Technology Skills

Hot technology
Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.

Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Controlling Machines and Processes — Using either control mechanisms or direct physical activity to operate machines or processes (not including computers or vehicles).
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials — Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
  • Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Performing General Physical Activities — Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
  • Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
  • Repairing and Maintaining Mechanical Equipment — Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment that operate primarily on the basis of mechanical (not electronic) principles.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Working with Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

  • Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — 100% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — 92% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Spend Time Standing — 83% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 73% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams — 65% responded “Every day.”
  • Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment — 51% responded “Extremely important.”
  • Exposed to Contaminants — 61% responded “Every day.”
  • Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions — 45% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Time Pressure — 43% responded “Every day.”
  • Duration of Typical Work Week — 51% responded “40 hours.”
  • Health and Safety of Other Workers — 40% responded “Very high responsibility.”
  • Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team — 42% responded “Very important.”
  • Exposed to Minor Burns, Cuts, Bites, or Stings — 54% responded “Every day.”
  • Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals — 44% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Freedom to Make Decisions — 40% responded “A lot of freedom.”
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 45% responded “Every day.”
  • Exposed to Hazardous Equipment — 61% responded “Every day.”
  • Indoors, Not Environmentally Controlled — 59% responded “Every day.”
  • Contact With Others — 40% responded “Constant contact with others.”
  • Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities — 30% responded “Very important.”
  • Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable — 59% responded “Every day.”
  • Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 30% responded “Very important results.”
  • Spend Time Walking or Running — 34% responded “Continually or almost continually.”
  • Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers — 29% responded “High responsibility.”
  • Level of Competition — 36% responded “Moderately competitive.”
  • Spend Time Bending or Twisting Your Body — 29% responded “Continually or almost continually.”

Experience Requirements

Job Zone

Title
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
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.
Job Zone Examples
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, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.
SVP Range
(4.0 to < 6.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
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Apprenticeship Opportunities

Example apprenticeship titles for this occupation:

  • Card Grinder
  • Cylinder Grinder (Prt & Pub)
  • Die Polisher (Nonfer Metal)
  • Grinder Op Tool Precision
  • Grinder Set-Up Operator, Universal
  • Saw Filer (Any Ind)
  • Tool Grinder I
  • Tool Grinder Operator

Specific title(s) listed above are vetted by industry and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor for use in a Registered Apprenticeship Program.

Start your career and build your skillset. Visit Apprenticeship.gov to learn about opportunities related to this occupation.

Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Operations Monitoring — Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
  • Operation and Control — Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
  • Quality Control Analysis — Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
  • Equipment Maintenance — Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
  • Repairing — Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Equipment Selection — Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
  • Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Troubleshooting — Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.

Knowledge

  • Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  • Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 45%
     
    High school diploma or equivalent required
  • 36%
     
    Post-secondary certificate required
  • 13%
     
    Less than high school diploma required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Selective Attention — The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Visualization — The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Flexibility of Closure — The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Perceptual Speed — The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Rate Control — The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Reaction Time — The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Auditory Attention — The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Hearing Sensitivity — The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Information Ordering — The 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).
  • Multilimb Coordination — The 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.
  • Static Strength — The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.

Interests

Interest code: RC
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  • Realistic — Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Work Styles

  • Cautiousness — A tendency to be careful, deliberate, and risk-avoidant when making work-related decisions or doing work.
  • Attention to Detail — A tendency to be detail-oriented, organized, and thorough in completing work.
  • Dependability — A tendency to be reliable, responsible, and consistent in meeting work-related obligations.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2024)
$23.54 hourly, $48,970 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2024)
5,800 employees
Projected growth (2024-2034)
Decline (-1% or lower)
Projected job openings (2024-2034)
500
State trends
Top industries (2024)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 wage data and 2024-2034 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2024-2034). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

Disclaimer: Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries. Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.

National Associations