Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
On the Job
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners do precision smoothing, sharpening, polishing, or grinding tasks on metal objects.
Physical Demands 
This career requires time standing, walking, or running.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Operate grinding equipment.
- Review blueprints or other instructions to determine operational methods or sequences.
- Study blueprints or other instructions to determine equipment setup requirements.
- Inspect finishes of workpieces or finished products.
- Adjust equipment controls to regulate coolant flow.
- Apply protective or decorative finishes to workpieces or products.
- Apply solutions to production equipment.
- Assemble machine tools, parts, or fixtures.
- Draw guide lines or markings on materials or workpieces using patterns or other references.
- Immerse objects or workpieces in cleaning or coating solutions.
Typical Working Conditions
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- Using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools, or controls.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Having face-to-face discussions.
- A work pace that is determined by the speed of equipment.
- Exposure to contaminants (like gases or odors).
- Responsibility for others' health and safety.
- Working with a group or team.
- Exposure to minor burns, cuts, bites, or stings.
- Frequent decision-making.
- Freedom to make decisions without supervision.
- Working indoors in non-environmentally controlled conditions.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
