About This Career

Plans, lays out, and constructs wooden unit or sectional patterns used in forming sand molds for castings.

This career is part of the Manufacturing cluster Production pathway.

A person in this career:

• Reads blueprints, drawings, or written specifications to determine sizes and shapes of patterns and required machine setups.
• Fits, fastens, and assembles wood parts together to form patterns, models, or sections, using glue, nails, dowels, bolts, and screws.
• Lays out patterns on wood stock and draws outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products, based on blueprint specifications and sketches, and using marking and measuring devices.
• Trims, smooths, and shapes surfaces, and planes, shaves, files, scrapes, and sands models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.
• Verifies dimensions of completed patterns, using templates, straightedges, calipers, or protractors.
• Divides patterns into sections according to shapes of castings to facilitate removal of patterns from molds.
• Corrects patterns to compensate for defects in castings.
• Sets up, operates, and adjusts a variety of woodworking machines such as bandsaws and lathes to cut and shape sections, parts, and patterns, according to specifications.
• Finishes completed products or models with shellac, lacquer, wax, or paint.
• Marks identifying information such as colors or codes on patterns, parts, and templates to indicate assembly methods.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 20 lbs., sometimes up to 50 lbs. You might do a lot of lifting, carrying, pushing or pulling.
• Work in this occupation involves use of protective items such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, a hard hat, or personal flotation devices
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Judging how far away an object is, or which of several objects is closer or farther away
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person
• Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying objects
• Using abdominal and lower back muscles repeatedly or over time without tiring

Work Hours and Travel

• Regular working hours and limited travel