About Adolf’s Pattern Shop
“Home of the Perfect Match”
Our mission is to assist pattern makers and foundries with simple
cost effective, time efficient, waste reducing solutions
that help minimize the bottom line and reduce a negative imprint on the environment.
In a competitive global market it is essential to have cost effective strategies to produce quality castings, reduce cost in production, and stay under budget. We at Adolf’s understand that well and have tried and true solutions that will serve your foundry’s needs.
Adolf’s Pattern Shop began with design, engineering, and craftsmanship problem solving for the foundry industry. As a journeyman patternmaker, Adolf perfected solutions to eliminate alignment problems; filtering and pouring solutions to produce high quality castings; and testing systems to support A.F.S. metallurgy guidelines.
In search for an optimal wear resistant plastic to enhance his tooling, Adolf encountered DuraTech,™ “a poly-urethane plastic designed for the space industry.” DuraTech™ characteristics are extremely more wear resistant than steel and can be machined, molded, or glued to any clean surface. DuraTech,™ the super-slick-plastic for high production tooling.
From Early Beginnings to Now
Adolf started his patternmaker apprenticeship in Berlin, Germany during 1949. Trained by German master craftsmen, he excelled as an apprentice and completed the apprenticeship program in three years graduating at the top of his class with honors. In Germany, at that time, it was mandatory practice for all apprentices to spend six weeks working in a foundry doing piece work on the molding line. That experience gave Adolf unique insights in visualizing and problem solving when building patterns.
Adolf and Leonor Volkmann decided to go independent and start their own pattern making business. Two years later, they purchased their first building at 425 NE 80th Ave Portland, Oregon. At this location, Adolf developed over 91 products to serve the needs of foundries and pattern shops within today’s global market.
~Home of the Perfect Match~
Adolf developed his first custom style alignment inserts to eliminate shift in the molding process – Style A.
He recalled the simplistic idea of having two inter-connecting conical diameters creating impressions within the cope & drag halves. Utilizing this innovative idea, he manufactured tooling to create the cope & drag Alignment Inserts with a unique design, which creates a perfect alignment system for multiple tooling processes such as cope and drag match plates, match boards, and molding boxes for no bake, green sand and automated molding processes.
He then went to work creating tooling for a different style of alignment inserts – Style B.
After 50 years of business, Adolf & Leonor decided to devote their time elsewhere. In April of 2020, the entirety of Adolf’s Pattern Shop was purchased by Jason & Carrie Speltz of Minnesota. Like Adolf, Jason is a highly skilled journeyman patternmaker enthralled with the trade and dedicated to filling needs of the foundry industry. Adolf’s Pattern Shop will continue to be a family owned and operated small business offering Adolf’s products directly to pattern shops and foundries in a global market. “Home of the perfect match” may just have taken on another meaning. Check back often as there are sure to be enhancements and new products engineered by Jason.
Surrounded by his family, Adolf went on to greet our Godly patternmaker on December 13, 2022.
Historical Items are no longer available but are listed here for education and enlightenment of ingenuity and design.
Silent Adjustable Vibrator