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Conventional machinist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical conventional machinist skills. We ranked the top skills for conventional machinists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 13.5% of conventional machinist resumes contained cnc as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a conventional machinist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 conventional machinist skills for your resume and career

1. CNC

CNC stands for Computer Numerical Control. It is a subtractive manufacturing technique that usually uses computerized controls and machine tools to strip layers of material from a stock piece.

Here's how conventional machinists use cnc:

Operate and setup conventional lathe and milling Machine plus some CNC Machine operation.
Set up and operated CNC machines and adjusted controls that regulated operational functions to ensure conformance to specifications.

2. Grinders

Here's how conventional machinists use grinders:

Produced various parts according to blueprint specifications using conventional lathes, mills drills, grinders and horizontal and vertical mills.
Used cylindrical, surface and Blanchard grinders to machine chrome hardened parts back into tolerances of MIL-SPEC for military operation.

3. Hand Tools

Here's how conventional machinists use hand tools:

Used hand tools to fit and assemble parts.
Machine and replace defective part using conventional mills, lathes, and various machinetools and hand tools.

4. Calipers

Here's how conventional machinists use calipers:

Utilized various tools - calipers, micrometers, height gauges, bore gauges, and others gauges.
Detailed inspection of parts using indicating micrometer, calipers, depth gauges.

5. Drill Press

A drill press refers to a device used to produce holes in hard substances. When drilling the holes, you need to clamp the workpiece on a table and hold the drill in a rotating spindle and feed it into the workpiece.

Here's how conventional machinists use drill press:

Operated radial drill press, band saw, hydraulic press and universal boring and facing head.
Performed set ups on conventional lathes, drill presses, and vertical mills for production parts.

6. Machine Shop

Here's how conventional machinists use machine shop:

Produce prototype parts on conventional machine shop equipment.
Repaired and operated auxiliary machinery, including calculating time and material needed for machine shop work and repair of auxiliary machinery.

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7. Shop Equipment

Shop Equipment refers to the collection of items and tools that a (usually brick-and-mortar) business keeps and utilises in providing their services, maintaining their surroundings, or when selling their wares. While this equipment might consist simply of just some fridges, a till, and some cleaning supplies like in everyday grocery shops, more specific and specialised businesses might also make frequent use of saws, lawnmowers, freezers, bikes and cars, and heavy machinery such as rollers and cranes.

Here's how conventional machinists use shop equipment:

Set up and operated many types of conventional machine-shop equipment.
Machined parts for US Navy Ships and walk-in customers using Milling and Lathe Machines as well as other shop equipment.

8. Safety Procedures

Safety procedures are a set of standardized procedures, that ensures minimal to no risk to people, resources, and the work environment. A company follows the step-by-step safety procedures as it they not only keep the customers and the employees safe, but also help in avoiding legal claims.

Here's how conventional machinists use safety procedures:

Performed damage control and improved safety procedures.

9. Aerospace

Aerospace refers to the physical science focusing on designing and developing, testing, and producing systems that aid in navigation to space or traverse through the earth's atmospheric zone.

Here's how conventional machinists use aerospace:

Worked closely with management and engineering staff to ensure efficient and safe methods were utilized in producing high quality aerospace components.
Machined and inspected metal parts used in aerospace industry under military contract (Federal Aviation Administration).

10. Engineering Drawings

Engineering drawings are technical drawings that tell about the requirements for engineering components or equipment. Such drawings have standardized languages and symbols. There are multiple types of engineering drawings such as isometric drawing, orthographic or multiview drawing, schematic drawings, one view, and two view drawings, etc.

Here's how conventional machinists use engineering drawings:

Read and interpreted engineering drawings and specifications.
Fabricate and/or machine prototype accessories and test fixtures from engineering drawings and sketches utilizing various machine shop tools and equipment.

11. Jigs

Here's how conventional machinists use jigs:

Worked assisting in the Design, fabrication and the Assembly of jigs, fixtures, presses, and injection molds.
Machined jigs and fixtures for small electronics assembly.

12. Dial Indicators

Here's how conventional machinists use dial indicators:

Use precision measuring devices such as micrometers, calipers and dial indicators to verify conformance to specifications.
Aligned rotating equipment using lasers or dial indicators.

13. Manual Lathes

Here's how conventional machinists use manual lathes:

Manufactured precise parts on Manual Lathe and Milling Machinery according to Blue Print Specifications
Learned Conventional milling machine and manual lathe

14. Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is an alloy of iron, chromium, carbon, and some other metals with corrosion-resistant properties. The components of steel include less than 1% carbon, 1% manganese, and small quantities of other elements such as phosphorus, silicon, sulfur, and oxygen. Iron and carbon are the two essential components of steel. Stainless steel is resistant to tarnishing and rust.

Here's how conventional machinists use stainless steel:

Machined aluminum, titanium, and stainless steel materials.
Worked with unique and challenging materials, including Delrin, Teflon and many alloys of stainless steel.

15. Lean Manufacturing

Here's how conventional machinists use lean manufacturing:

Applied Lean Manufacturing Concepts to Reduce Set Up Time: Listed all tooling to produce common parts on 4th Axis cell.
Participate in the company wide implementation and education of 5s programs and Lean Manufacturing Principles.

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List of conventional machinist skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a conventional machinist resume and required skills for a conventional machinist to have include:

CNC
Grinders
Hand Tools
Calipers
Drill Press
Machine Shop
Shop Equipment
Safety Procedures
Aerospace
Engineering Drawings

Jigs
Dial Indicators
Manual Lathes
Stainless Steel
Lean Manufacturing
Cad Cam
Conventional Lathe
Blueprint Specifications
CAD
Landing Gear

EDM
Spindles
Bridgeports
Horizontal Boring Mills
Conventional Machines
Machine Operation
VTL
Conventional Mill
ISO
Tig Welding

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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