1.3 What Do Machinists Do?
D.M. Donner
Common machinist duties found in job postings today, such as these on the Career One Stop site, include:
- Fabricates, maintains, repairs, and/or alters metal parts and metal objects using a variety of hand tools, metalworking machines, arc or gas welding equipment, and following instructions, specifications, technical manuals, etc.
- Sets up and operates metalworking machines such as lathes and milling machines to machine parts to established specifications.
- Compares finished work to specifications using measuring instruments such as scales, calipers, and micrometers.
- Reviews plans, specifications, diagrams, etc. to determine the dimensions and tolerances of metal components to be machined and to determine the tools, materials, and equipment required to complete assigned projects.
- Measures, marks, and scribes metal stock following blueprints, diagrams, and/or specifications, and uses square rule and scribe to prepare metal for machining operations.
- Performs related duties such as cleaning work areas, tools, and equipment; maintaining records and logs; and drawing sketches of metal parts or metal components to be machined.