Occupational Employment Statistics

DETAILED OCCUPATION DATA

51-4194 Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners

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

Occupational Employment Statistics(OES) Wage Data
First Quarter 2026

Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Percentiles
Geography	Employment	Emp SE*	Mean	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th
Northwest Minnesota

Leading Industries for Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners

Industry	OES Employment (Statewide)	OES Median Wage (Statewide)
Manufacturing	50	$30.87/hr
Trade, Transportation and Utilities	N/A	N/A
Professional and Business Services	N/A	N/A
Other Services	N/A	N/A

Other Regional Data for Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners

Geography	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change 2022-2032
Northwest Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southeast Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southwest Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
Duluth MN-WI MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northeast Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Fargo ND-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Grand Forks ND-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
La Crosse WI-MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Mankato-North Mankato MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southeast Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Rochester MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northeast Minnesota	N/A	N/A	N/A
St Cloud MN MSA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Northwest Balance of State	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southwest Balance of State	10	$24.13/hr	N/A
Central Minnesota	10	$28.85/hr	N/A
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington MN-WI MSA	40	$30.88/hr	N/A
Seven County Mpls-St Paul, MN	40	$30.89/hr	N/A
Minnesota	90	$25.57/hr	-9.1%

Related Occupations

Occupations	Employment	Median Wage	Projections % Change -
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	220	$27.15/hr	N/A
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	110	$23.12/hr	-11.1%
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	1,400	$25.47/hr	-4.0%
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,960	$28.60/hr	-5.6%
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	150	$30.00/hr	-6.0%
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,130	$28.65/hr	1.9%
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers	410	$25.87/hr	N/A
Printing Press Operators	4,960	$23.88/hr	-3.0%
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand	120	$25.54/hr	-16.7%
Machinists	12,500	$30.06/hr	7.6%

Task for Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners

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.
Perform basic maintenance, such as cleaning and lubricating machine parts.
Remove and replace worn or broken machine parts, using hand tools.
Turn valves to direct flow of coolant against cutting wheels and workpieces during grinding.
Compute numbers, widths, and angles of cutting tools, micrometers, scales, and gauges, and adjust tools to produce specified cuts.
Inspect, feel, and measure workpieces to ensure that surfaces and dimensions meet specifications.
Set up and operate grinding or polishing machines to grind metal workpieces, such as dies, parts, and tools.
Straighten workpieces and remove dents, using straightening presses and hammers.
Monitor machine operations to determine whether adjustments are necessary, stopping machines when problems occur.