Model Makers, Wood
Construct full-size and scale wooden precision models of products. Includes wood jig builders and loft workers.
280 people do this job in the US. $56,550 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 18%
- 0%
- 82%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 10%. Today's estimate: 12%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construct wooden models, patterns, templates, full scale mock-ups, and molds for parts of products and production tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 25% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 1 work week | Stays with people | |
| Trim, smooth, and shape surfaces, and plane, shave, file, scrape, and sand models to attain specified shapes, using hand tools.Done daily by most who do it. | 13% | 1.7 h25 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Fit, fasten, and assemble wood parts together to form patterns, models, or sections, using glue, nails, dowels, bolts, screws, and other fasteners.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 1.7 h25 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Plan, lay out, and draw outlines of units, sectional patterns, or full-scale mock-ups of products.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 10% | 2.1 h38 min to 6.7 h | 46%Half by Oct 2026 | |
| Build jigs that can be used as guides for assembling oversized or special types of box shooks.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 9% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Set up, operate, and adjust a variety of woodworking machines such as bandsaws and planers to cut and shape sections, parts, and patterns, according to specifications.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Read blueprints, drawings, or written specifications, and consult with designers to determine sizes and shapes of patterns and required machine setups.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 87%Half by now | |
| Fabricate work aids such as scrapers or templates.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Finish patterns or models with protective or decorative coatings such as shellac, lacquer, or wax.Done yearly or less by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Select wooden stock, determine layouts, and mark layouts of parts on stock, using precision equipment such as scribers, squares, and protractors.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Verify dimensions and contours of models during hand-forming processes, using templates and measuring devices.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain pattern records for reference.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 1% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).