So, here is a simple thought process, Who makes the best craftsman in the game?
The way we are going to measure this is balancing the cost of the class to gain the ability to craft, the things they can craft, and synergy with the class and abilities.
I know most people would probably default to the wizard due to his spell list, having INT as primary stat, and having Spellcraft as a class skill but I would argue that (for most purposes) the Alchemist would be a better crafter. It would cost the Alchemist 2 feats instead of 1 (for Wondrous Items) but he does have some nifty bonuses.
By taking Master Craftsman (Craft:Alchemy) he can use his Craft Alchemy ranks as caster levels and his craft skill as his Spellcraft roll. This is significant because the Alchemist gets a HUGE bonus Craft Alchemy checks as it is (Essentially adding caster level twice). This would allow the Alchemist to attempt craft checks normally deemed much too difficult for other crafters. Additionally, by having INT as a primary stat, he has a fairly good bonus as well.
So what do you guys think?
Forgemaster dwarfen cleric archetype. Craft Magic Arms and Armor for free, Runeforge, and Master Smith are all good.
Wizard is pretty high up there not just for spell list, but also for bonus feat list. It's incredibly easy to build a wizard who both unleashes a lot of power and builds magic items.
This is so in the Wizards favor that anything else just pales in comparison. Wizards get spells that let them increase their craft skill, instantly masterwork items (saving massive amounts of crafting time), and fabricate completed items out of raw materials in a single round (per 10 cu. ft. of item). On top of this Wizards are an Intelligence focused class giving both enough skill points to dump into craft skills and then giving them a bonus on performing the craft and have an Arcane Discovery Arcane Builder that lets them craft certain items 25% faster (though for magical metal items, Forgemaster will be faster). Other then magical metal items though, everything else will lose out.