How to become a Wood Patternmaker

Official title: Patternmakers, Wood

Also called: Mold Maker, Pattern Engineer, Pattern Maker, Patternmaker, Wood Pattern Maker, Wood Patternmaker, Wood Shop Moldmaker, Woodshop Worker

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

Main tasks

• 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.

How to become one

Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Patternmaker, Wood.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: $49,630 a year The middle half earn $41,170 to $59,350.
• About 600 people work in this job now, and about 600 are projected by 2035. (-2%)
• People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Related jobs

• Model Makers, Wood
• Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters
• Furniture Finishers
• Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
• Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Wood Patternmaker?

Ways in include: Patternmaker, Wood.

How much does a Wood Patternmaker earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $49,630 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $41,170 to $59,350.

Is a Wood Patternmaker a growing career in the US?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 600 people now and 600 later (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Wood Patternmaker?

Usually not. Only 21% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Patternmaker, Wood.

Will AI change the work of a Wood Patternmaker?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

• Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.