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Patternmakers, Wood

Plan, lay out, and construct wooden unit or sectional patterns used in forming sand molds for castings.

What you’d do

  • Read blueprints, drawings, or written specifications to determine sizes and shapes of patterns and required machine setups.
  • Fit, fasten, and assemble wood parts together to form patterns, models, or sections, using glue, nails, dowels, bolts, and screws.
  • Lay out patterns on wood stock and draw outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products, based on blueprint specifications and sketches, and using marking and measuring devices.
  • Trim, smooth, and shape surfaces, and plane, shave, file, scrape, and sand models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.
  • Divide patterns into sections according to shapes of castings to facilitate removal of patterns from molds.
  • Verify dimensions of completed patterns, using templates, straightedges, calipers, or protractors.
  • Correct patterns to compensate for defects in castings.
  • Set up, operate, and adjust a variety of woodworking machines such as bandsaws and lathes to cut and shape sections, parts, and patterns, according to specifications.

Skills that matter

  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Operations Monitoring
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Listening

How to get there

Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

Also called

  • Mold Maker
  • Pattern Maker
  • Patternmaker
  • Wood Pattern Maker
  • Pattern Engineer
  • Wood Patternmaker

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