Visiting the old steel mill museum in Pittsburgh, I saw they still use wooden patterns for some of their demonstration castings.

It got me thinking, is keeping those traditional patternmaking skills alive just for show, or is there still a real, practical reason to teach them alongside modern 3D printing methods?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela_knight3mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly, I read that wooden patterns teach you the fundamentals better.

troykim11d ago

Right? I feel that so much. When you're on wood there's zero margin for error, you really have to lock in every step or you'll eat sht. Plastic boards just slide and spin too easy, it's like they hide your mistakes. I started on one of those cheap wood boards and I swear it made me a way more careful skater. Even now when I go back to wood for a session it reminds me to tighten up my form. It's not about hating on plastic, it's just that wood doesn't let you cheat.

brians273mo ago

Oh man, you are so right about that. I learned on the old wooden boards back in the day and it just forces you to pay attention to your feet. Everything plastic now is so forgiving, you can get away with being sloppy. It really does build a stronger base.