Fur and leather preparing machine operators

Fur and leather preparing machine operators operate and monitor various machines that prepare leather or treat fur- or wool-bearing pelts. They trim, scrape, clean, tan, buff and dye animal hides, pelts or skins to produce leather stock and finished furs.

Job Responsibilities

• Operating and monitoring machines which remove flesh and fat from hides or pelts to clean and soften them prior to processing
• Operating and monitoring machines which remove long coarse hair from fur pelts, trim hair to even length and dye, stretch and smooth dressed pelts
• Operating and monitoring machines to remove epidermis hair roots, pigment cells and lime salts from the grain side of skin
• Operating and monitoring machines to reduce thickness of hide or skin to uniform size
• Operating and monitoring machines to polish or roughen hides or skins to specified finishes
• Operating and monitoring machines which separate residual wool from skins, or flesh and hair from hides
• Operating and monitoring machines in which hides are split edgeways to form two or more pieces or to give uniform thickness
• Operating and monitoring machines which treat hides and skins in solutions to convert them into leather
• Treating surfaces of leather with oil and operating glazing machines to give glossy finishes to leather
• Operating and monitoring machines which apply dyes and stains to leather
• Maintaining and repairing vats and other machinery