Daily AncestorToolmaker
A toolmaker was a highly skilled machinist who made and repaired the dies, jigs, gauges and cutting tools used in factories.
Wiktionary defines a toolmaker as a skilled machinist who makes and repairs tools. Tool and die makers work in a factory's toolroom, apart from the production line, making jigs, fixtures, dies, molds, gauges and cutting tools from engineering drawings.
The trade is usually learned through a long period of on-the-job training that works like an apprenticeship.
As seen in a recordOccupation and industry columns of the 1910 to 1940 census
Emil Gutknecht, 42, Toolmaker, Automobile factory
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Toolmaker." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/occupations/toolmaker. Last checked 2026-10-12.