Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners
Perform precision smoothing, sharpening, polishing, or grinding of metal objects.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $35,350 | $16.99 |
| 25th | $40,800 | $19.61 |
| 50th · Median | $50,060 | $24.07 |
| 75th | $62,150 | $29.88 |
| 90th | $77,170 | $37.10 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (27)
Typical tasks
- Monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur.
- Select and mount grinding wheels on machines, according to specifications, using hand tools and applying knowledge of abrasives and grinding procedures.
- Set up and operate grinding or polishing machines to grind metal workpieces, such as dies, parts, and tools.
- Inspect, feel, and measure workpieces to ensure that surfaces and dimensions meet specifications.
- 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.
Expand more tasks (12)
- Study blueprints or layouts of metal workpieces to determine grinding procedures, and to plan machine setups and operational sequences.
- Dress grinding wheels, according to specifications.
- Remove and replace worn or broken machine parts, using hand tools.
- Fit parts together in pre-assembly to ensure that dimensions are accurate.
- File or finish surfaces of workpieces, using prescribed hand tools.
- Inspect dies to detect defects, assess wear, and verify specifications, using micrometers, steel gauge pins, and loupes.
- 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.
- Attach workpieces to grinding machines and form specified sections and repair cracks, using welding or brazing equipment.
- Straighten workpieces and remove dents, using straightening presses and hammers.
- Place workpieces in electroplating solutions or apply pigments to surfaces of workpieces to highlight ridges and grooves.
- Duplicate workpiece contours, using tracer attachments.
Skills used in this work
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
Expand more skills (29)
- 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.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
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