Description
Use hand tools or hand-held power tools to cut and trim a variety of manufactured items, such as carpet, fabric, stone, glass, or rubber.
- • Mark or discard items with defects such as spots, stains, scars, snags, chips, scratches, or unacceptable shapes or finishes.
- • Trim excess material or cut threads off finished products, such as cutting loose ends of plastic off a manufactured toy for a smoother finish.
- • Cut, shape, and trim materials, such as textiles, food, glass, stone, and metal, using knives, scissors, and other hand tools, portable power tools, or bench-mounted tools.
- • Separate materials or products according to size, weight, type, condition, color, or shade.
- • Mark identification numbers, trademarks, grades, marketing data, sizes, or model numbers on products.
- • Read work orders to determine dimensions, cutting locations, and quantities to cut.
- • Count or weigh and bundle items.
- • Mark cutting lines around patterns or templates, or follow layout points, using squares, rules, and straightedges, and chalk, pencils, or scribes.
- • Unroll, lay out, attach, or mount materials or items on cutting tables or machines.
- • Stack cut items and load them on racks or conveyors or onto trucks.
- • Fold or shape materials before or after cutting them.
- • Clean, treat, buff, or polish finished items, using grinders, brushes, chisels, and cleaning solutions and polishing materials.
- • Position templates or measure materials to locate specified points of cuts or to obtain maximum yields, using rules, scales, or patterns.
- • Route items to provide cutouts for parts, using portable routers, grinders, and hand tools.
- • Replace or sharpen dulled cutting tools such as saws.
- • Lower table-mounted cutters such as knife blades, cutting wheels, or saws to cut items to specified sizes.
- • Adjust guides and stops to control depths and widths of cuts.
- • Transport items to work or storage areas, using carts.
Related specializations
Interview options
Interview options
Interviewee gender
Interviewee accent
Available on paid plans only
Interview time
Related Pathways
Advanced Manufacturing
View
Source
Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
Learn more
Sources & Standards:
This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
