Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners

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

What you'd actually do

• 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.

How you get there

Typical entry-level education: High school diploma. Overall preparation: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

The feel of the work

Much of the day is spent working solo; precision matters — small details carry weight. (Compared against the other 818 careers in the guide.)

Working for yourself

About 1% of tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners are self-employed.

Who it tends to fit

This work tends to fit people who are hands-on and organized and detail-focused.

Related careers

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• Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
• Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

Quick questions

How much does a tool grinders, filers, and sharpener make?

The median pay is $24.07 per hour — roughly $50,000 a year, with the real range running from about $16.99/hr (10th percentile) to $37.10/hr (90th percentile). Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Do you need a degree to be a tool grinders, filers, and sharpener?

The typical entry-level education is: High school diploma. Overall preparation level: some preparation (Job Zone 2 of 5).

What does a tool grinders, filers, and sharpener actually do all day?

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.