Production
Patternmakers, Wood
Also called: Mold Maker, Pattern Engineer, Pattern Maker, Patternmaker
US median pay
$49,630
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
-2%
declining
Openings a year (US)
100
600 employed
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Preparation 3/5 · Medium preparation
What this job is
Plan, lay out, and construct wooden unit or sectional patterns used in forming sand molds for castings.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Finish completed products or models with shellac, lacquer, wax, or paint.
- Estimate costs for patternmaking jobs.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Operations Monitoring3.1/5
- Operation and Control3.1/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.1/5
- Quality Control Analysis3.0/5
- Time Management2.9/5
- Social Perceptiveness2.9/5
- Operations Analysis2.9/5
- Judgment and Decision Making2.9/5
Knowledge
- Mathematics4.0/5
- Design3.6/5
- Engineering and Technology3.6/5
- Mechanical3.6/5
- Building and Construction3.3/5
- Administration and Management3.3/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 3 of 5 — Medium preparation. Usually vocational training, an associate's degree or an apprenticeship.
Typical entry education (BLS): High school diploma or equivalent.
Highest education of people in this job:
- High school diploma57%
- Post-secondary certificate26%
- Some college16%
Who this job suits
Mostly Realistic
Hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
Artistic
Creating, designing and self-expression
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.