Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand
Grind, sand, or polish, using hand tools or hand-held power tools, a variety of metal, wood, stone, clay, plastic, or glass objects. Includes chippers, buffers, and finishers.
10,510 people do this job in the US. $42,660 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 11%
- 0%
- 89%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 4%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 11%. Today's estimate: 11%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 17 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grind, sand, clean, or polish objects or parts to correct defects or to prepare surfaces for further finishing, using hand tools and power tools.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 18% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| File grooved, contoured, and irregular surfaces of metal objects, such as metalworking dies and machine parts, to conform to templates, other parts, layouts, or blueprint specifications.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 14% | 50 min25 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Repair and maintain equipment, objects, or parts, using hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Trim, scrape, or deburr objects or parts, using chisels, scrapers, and other hand tools and equipment.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Verify quality of finished workpieces by inspecting them, comparing them to templates, measuring their dimensions, or testing them in working machinery.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Load and adjust workpieces onto equipment or work tables, using hand tools.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 13 min4 min to 21 min | Stays with people | |
| Measure and mark equipment, objects, or parts to ensure grinding and polishing standards are met.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Study blueprints or layouts to determine how to lay out workpieces or saw out templates.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 17 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Select files or other abrasives, according to materials, sizes and shapes of workpieces, amount of stock to be removed, finishes specified, and steps in finishing processes.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 4% | 8 min4 min to 17 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Sharpen abrasive grinding tools, using machines and hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Mark defects, such as knotholes, cracks, and splits, for repair.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 7 min2 min to 17 min | Stays with people | |
| Remove completed workpieces from equipment or work tables, using hand tools, and place workpieces in containers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 3% | 8 min3 min to 13 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic18% now, 18% by 2028
- Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners6% now, 6% by 2028
- Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing7% now, 7% by 2028
- Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders7% now, 7% by 2028
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic0% now, 0% by 2028
- Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic7% now, 7% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).