Patternmakers, Wood
Plan, lay out, and construct wooden unit or sectional patterns used in forming sand molds for castings.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Patternmakers, Wood. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $37,600 | $18.08 |
| 25th | $41,170 | $19.79 |
| 50th · Median | $49,630 | $23.86 |
| 75th | $59,350 | $28.53 |
| 90th | $83,780 | $40.28 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (2)
Typical 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.
Expand more tasks (14)
- 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.
- Mark identifying information such as colors or codes on patterns, parts, and templates to indicate assembly methods.
- Repair broken or damaged patterns.
- Maintain pattern records for reference.
- Glue fillets along interior angles of patterns.
- Construct wooden models, templates, full scale mock-ups, jigs, or molds for shaping parts of products.
- Compute dimensions, areas, volumes, and weights.
- Select lumber to be used for patterns.
- Collect and store patterns and lumber.
- Inventory equipment and supplies, ordering parts and tools as necessary.
- Issue patterns to designated machine operators.
Skills used in this work
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Expand more skills (29)
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
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