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Tool and Die Makers

Analyze specifications, lay out metal stock, set up and operate machine tools, and fit and assemble parts to make and repair dies, cutting tools, jigs, fixtures, gauges, and machinists' hand tools.
Related: Cutting, Punching, & Press Machine Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic  Grinding & Polishing Workers, Hand  Lathe & Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, & Tenders, Metal & Plastic  Model Makers, Metal & Plastic  Tool Grinders, Filers, & Sharpeners 
Industries: Manufacturing 

  • Summary

  • Details

    • Work Activities

    • Fit and assemble parts to make, repair, or modify dies, jigs, gauges, and tools, using machine tools, hand tools, or welders.
    • Verify dimensions, alignments, and clearances of finished parts for conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments such as calipers, gauge blocks, micrometers, or dial indicators.
    • Cut, shape, and trim blanks or blocks to specified lengths or shapes, using power saws, power shears, rules, and hand tools.
    • Set pyrometer controls of heat-treating furnaces and feed or place parts, tools, or assemblies into furnaces to harden.
    • Inspect finished dies for smoothness, contour conformity, and defects.
    • Develop and design new tools and dies, using computer-aided design software.
    • Set up and operate drill presses to drill and tap holes in parts for assembly.
    • Conduct test runs with completed tools or dies to ensure that parts meet specifications, making adjustments as necessary.
    • Measure, mark, and scribe metal or plastic stock to lay out machining, using instruments such as protractors, micrometers, scribes, or rulers.
    • Conduct test runs with completed tools or dies to ensure that parts meet specifications, making adjustments as necessary.
    • Lift, position, and secure machined parts on surface plates or worktables, using hoists, vises, v-blocks, or angle plates.
    • File, grind, shim, and adjust different parts to properly fit them together.
    • Smooth and polish flat and contoured surfaces of parts or tools, using scrapers, abrasive stones, files, emery cloths, or power grinders.
    • Cut, shape, and trim blanks or blocks to specified lengths or shapes, using power saws, power shears, rules, and hand tools.
    • File, grind, shim, and adjust different parts to properly fit them together.
    • Smooth and polish flat and contoured surfaces of parts or tools, using scrapers, abrasive stones, files, emery cloths, or power grinders.
    • Select metals to be used from a range of metals and alloys, based on properties such as hardness or heat tolerance.
    • Set up and operate conventional or computer numerically controlled machine tools such as lathes, milling machines, or grinders to cut, bore, grind, or otherwise shape parts to prescribed dimensions and finishes.
    • Design jigs, fixtures, and templates for use as work aids in the fabrication of parts or products.
    • Smooth and polish flat and contoured surfaces of parts or tools, using scrapers, abrasive stones, files, emery cloths, or power grinders.
    • Fit and assemble parts to make, repair, or modify dies, jigs, gauges, and tools, using machine tools, hand tools, or welders.
    • Study blueprints, sketches, models, or specifications to plan sequences of operations for fabricating tools, dies, or assemblies.
    • Set pyrometer controls of heat-treating furnaces and feed or place parts, tools, or assemblies into furnaces to harden.
    • Lift, position, and secure machined parts on surface plates or worktables, using hoists, vises, v-blocks, or angle plates.
    • Set up and operate conventional or computer numerically controlled machine tools such as lathes, milling machines, or grinders to cut, bore, grind, or otherwise shape parts to prescribed dimensions and finishes.
    • Fit and assemble parts to make, repair, or modify dies, jigs, gauges, and tools, using machine tools, hand tools, or welders.
    • Visualize and compute dimensions, sizes, shapes, and tolerances of assemblies, based on specifications.

    Skills

    • Active Listening
      • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
    • Time Management
      • Managing your time and the time of other people.
    • Learning Strategies
      • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
    • Social Perceptiveness
      • Understanding people's reactions.
    • Coordination
      • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
    • Persuasion
      • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
    • Writing
      • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
    • Instructing
      • Teaching people how to do something.
    • Installation
      • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
    • Complex Problem Solving
      • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
    • Operations Analysis
      • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
    • Troubleshooting
      • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
    • Judgment and Decision Making
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
    • Management of Material Resources
      • Managing equipment and materials.
    • Management of Financial Resources
      • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
    • Equipment Maintenance
      • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
    • Critical Thinking
      • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
    • Operation and Control
      • Using equipment or systems.
    • Technology Design
      • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
    • Repairing
      • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
    • Systems Analysis
      • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
    • Service Orientation
      • Looking for ways to help people.
    • Active Learning
      • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
    • Mathematics
      • Using math to solve problems.
    • Management of Personnel Resources
      • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
    • Programming
      • Writing computer programs.
    • Monitoring
      • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
    • Negotiation
      • Bringing people together to solve differences.
    • Reading Comprehension
      • Reading work-related information.
    • Systems Evaluation
      • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
    • Science
      • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
    • Equipment Selection
      • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
    • Operations Monitoring
      • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
    • Speaking
      • Talking to others.
    • Quality Control Analysis
      • Testing how well a product or service works.

    Abilities

    • Speed of Limb Movement
      • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
    • Extent Flexibility
      • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Oral Comprehension
      • Listening and understanding what people say.
    • Night Vision
      • Seeing at night or under low light.
    • Deductive Reasoning
      • Using rules to solve problems.
    • Sound Localization
      • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
    • Finger Dexterity
      • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
    • Flexibility of Closure
      • Seeing hidden patterns.
    • Arm-Hand Steadiness
      • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
    • Time Sharing
      • Doing two or more things at the same time.
    • Multilimb Coordination
      • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
    • Response Orientation
      • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
    • Near Vision
      • Seeing details up close.
    • Control Precision
      • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
    • Peripheral Vision
      • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
    • Static Strength
      • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
    • Fluency of Ideas
      • Coming up with lots of ideas.
    • Information Ordering
      • Ordering or arranging things.
    • Perceptual Speed
      • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
    • Written Expression
      • Communicating by writing.
    • Trunk Strength
      • Using your lower back and stomach.
    • Visual Color Discrimination
      • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
    • Rate Control
      • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
    • Depth Perception
      • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
    • Originality
      • Creating new and original ideas.
    • Spatial Orientation
      • Knowing where things are around you.
    • Auditory Attention
      • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
    • Reaction Time
      • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
    • Selective Attention
      • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
    • Category Flexibility
      • Grouping things in different ways.
    • Mathematical Reasoning
      • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
    • Memorization
      • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
    • Wrist-Finger Speed
      • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
    • Manual Dexterity
      • Holding or moving items with your hands.
    • Hearing Sensitivity
      • Telling the difference between sounds.
    • Speed of Closure
      • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
    • Stamina
      • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
    • Number Facility
      • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
    • Inductive Reasoning
      • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
    • Oral Expression
      • Communicating by speaking.
    • Far Vision
      • Seeing details that are far away.
    • Speech Clarity
      • Speaking clearly.
    • Speech Recognition
      • Recognizing spoken words.
    • Visualization
      • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
    • Gross Body Equilibrium
      • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
    • Explosive Strength
      • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
    • Dynamic Strength
      • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
    • Written Comprehension
      • Reading and understanding what is written.
    • Problem Sensitivity
      • Noticing when problems happen.
    • Dynamic Flexibility
      • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
    • Gross Body Coordination
      • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
    • Glare Sensitivity
      • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    Knowledge

    • Philosophy and Theology
      • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
    • Geography
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
    • Telecommunications
      • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
    • English Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
    • Medicine and Dentistry
      • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
    • Engineering and Technology
      • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
    • Communications and Media
      • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
    • Education and Training
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
    • Design
      • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
    • Law and Government
      • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
    • Administration and Management
      • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
    • Public Safety and Security
      • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
    • Mathematics
      • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
    • Physics
      • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
    • History and Archeology
      • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
    • Customer and Personal Service
      • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
    • Psychology
      • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
    • Administrative
      • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
    • Foreign Language
      • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
    • Personnel and Human Resources
      • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
    • Mechanical
      • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
    • Building and Construction
      • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
    • Biology
      • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
    • Therapy and Counseling
      • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
    • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
    • Sales and Marketing
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
    • Economics and Accounting
      • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
    • Computers and Electronics
      • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
    • Fine Arts
      • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
    • Transportation
      • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
    • Production and Processing
      • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
    • Chemistry
      • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
    • Food Production
      • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    Education

    Education
    Postsecondary certificate
    Work Experience
    No work experience
    Training
    More than 1 year on-the-job training
    Education and Training Opportunities

    Pay

    Washington Annual Salary
    78310/yr
    Washington Hourly Wage
    37.65/hr

    Washington Employment Trends

    Currently Employed
    1,640
    Yearly Projected Openings
    190

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:
    • Attention to Detail
    • Dependability
    • Persistence
    • Cooperation
    • Independence
    • Initiative

    Tools

    • Adjustable angle plate
    • Adjustable widemouth pliers
    • Air compressors
    • Bandsaw wheel
    • Bench vises
    • Blow torch
    • Boring machines
    • Bridge cranes
    • Calipers
    • Chucks
    • Claw hammer
    • Cold chisels
    • Column and knee milling machine
    • Comparators
    • Compasses
    • Coordinate measuring machines CMM
    • Countersink tool or counterbore tool
    • Countersinks
    • Deburring tool
    • Depth gauges
    • Desktop computers
    • Dial indicator or dial gauge
    • Direct current DC arc welder
    • Drill gauge
    • Drill press or radial drill
    • Dust collectors
    • Ear plugs
    • Engraving machines
    • Facial shields
    • Feeler gauges
    • Forklifts
    • Foundry ladles
    • Gage block set
    • Gas welding or brazing or cutting apparatus
    • Go or no go gauge
    • Goggles
    • Grease guns
    • Grinding machines
    • Grinding wheel dressers
    • Grit blast machines
    • Hacksaw
    • Hand clamps
    • Hand reamer
    • Handheld refractometers or polarimeters
    • Hardness testers
    • Height gauges
    • Hex keys
    • Hoists
    • Hole gauge
    • Honing machine
    • Hydraulic press brake
    • Hydraulic press frames
    • Induction heaters
    • Jacks
    • Knurling tool
    • Laser cutting machine
    • Laser measuring systems
    • Levels
    • Loupes
    • Magnifiers
    • Mallets
    • Manual press brake
    • Masks or accessories
    • Metal band sawing machine
    • Metal broaching machines
    • Metal inert gas welding machine
    • Metal stamps
    • Micrometers
    • Monocular microscopes
    • Notebook computers
    • Oil can
    • Open die forging press
    • Optical flats
    • Plasma arc welding machine
    • Plotter printers
    • Pneumatic grinders
    • Pneumatic sanding machines
    • Power drills
    • Power grinders
    • Power sanders
    • Power saws
    • Precision file
    • Protractors
    • Pullers
    • Punches or nail sets or drifts
    • Radius gauge
    • Rasps
    • Rivet tools
    • Rulers
    • Safety glasses
    • Screwdrivers
    • Scribers
    • Sharpening stones or tools or kits
    • Shears
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Sine bar
    • Spot welding machine
    • Squares
    • Stamping dies or punches
    • Surface gauge
    • Surface grinding machine
    • T handle tap wrenches
    • Tap extractors
    • Tape measures
    • Taper pin reamer
    • Telescoping gauge
    • Tension testers
    • Tensioners
    • Thread counters or gauges
    • Thread pitch gauge
    • Threading taps
    • Tinners snips
    • Tongs
    • Tracer or duplicating or contouring lathe
    • Tube bending machine
    • Tungsten inert gas welding machine
    • Turning machines
    • Turret lathe
    • Ultrasonic examination equipment
    • Universal milling machine
    • Vertical machining center
    • Vibratory or barrel finishing machine
    • Welder torch
    • Wire brushes
    • Wire cathode electrode discharge machine
    • Workshop cranes

    Technology

    • Computer aided design CAD software
    • Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Inventory management software
    • Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
    • Office suite software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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