Also called: Wagon Wheel Maker, Carriage Builder
Builds and repairs wooden wagon and carriage wheels by hand, fitting spokes and shrinking a hot iron tire onto the rim.
You shape oak spokes with a drawknife and fit them into a hand-turned hub. Then, with a crew, you heat an iron tire in a bonfire until it glows, drop it on the wooden wheel, and douse it with water so it shrinks tight.
Estimated; very few full-time positions.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Apprenticeship, about 4 years after high school. Long apprenticeship with a master wheelwright.
Ways in: Apprenticeship, On-the-job training. Training cost: Get paid while you train.
Majors to look at: None required, Woodworking.
Growing slowly. Tiny field serving museums, Amish communities and collectors.
Low risk for 10 years. Hand-built wooden wheels for museums and carriages are a craft with no automation path.
Classes: Woodshop, Metal shop, U.S. History.
Official data: O*NET occupation 51-7099.
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