Furnaces are among the most useful items in Minecraft. If possible, you should try to get one before nightfall. Having a furnace in your base will allow you to start digging and looking for iron.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Building a Furnace
Step 1. Open the workbench
Right click on it. If you don't have one down, skip straight to the beginner instructions below.
In the console version of Minecraft, press X or square on the joystick to open the workbench
Step 2. Place 8 crushed stone blocks on the workbench
Drag them inside. Fill in every box except the middle one, which must remain empty.
On console or mobile versions of the game, select the Furnace recipe from the Facilities tab. You will still need eight blocks of crushed stone
Step 3. Drag the furnace into the slot you have equipped
Grab it from the box where you get the creation results and drag it to one of the slots in the bottom bar.
Step 4. Put the furnace on the ground
Select it and right click on the ground to place it. A block-sized gray furnace will appear.
On console versions of the game, you can place objects with the left trigger or the L2 button on the joystick
Step 5. Right click on the furnace to use it
Go to this section to find more information on its use.
Method 2 of 3: Start from Zero
Step 1. Cut some trees for wood
Click and hold on a tree trunk to break it and collect wooden blocks.
Step 2. Turn the wood into planks
Open your inventory and drag the wood to the crafting grid. In the result box you should see some wooden planks. Drag them to inventory.
The crafting grid is a 2x2 area that you can find next to your character image
Step 3. Create a workbench
Fill all four squares of the crafting grid with wooden planks to make a workbench. As before, drag the table into your inventory to complete the recipe.
In the Pocket Edition you can choose the item you want from a list. If you have the items needed to craft it, it will appear in your inventory
Step 4. Place the workbench on the ground
Put it in one of the slots on the bottom bar, then, when you have it equipped, right click on the ground to place it. From now on, you will need to right click on the workbench to build all the other objects. You will have a 3x3 grid instead of the 2x2 grid that you can find in the inventory.
- In the Pocket Edition, press the equipped item, then press the ground to place it.
- In the console version of the game, use the directional pad or joystick triggers to equip items in your Speed Dial. Place them with the left trigger or the L2 button.
Step 5. Turn other planks into sticks
Cut more trees to get more wood and more planks if needed. Overlap two axes in the crafting grid. Drag the sticks into your inventory.
Step 6. Make a pickaxe
Here's how to make your first tool:
- Right click on the workbench to open it.
- Put a stick in the center box and a second one right below it.
- Place three wooden planks in the top row of the grid.
- Drag the pickaxe from the results box into a slot on the Quick Select Bar.
Step 7. Dig up some crushed stone
Click on the pickaxe icon in your bar to equip it. Look for stone (gray blocks) on mountain sides or by digging a few blocks deep. Click and hold on the stone to break it and get some crushed stone.
Step 8. Place 8 crushed stone blocks on the workbench
Leave the central space blank and fill in all the other boxes in the grid. You will get a furnace.
Step 9. Place the furnace wherever you like
Follow the same procedure used with the workbench.
Method 3 of 3: Using the Furnace
Step 1. Open the furnace
Right-click on it after placing it on the ground, to display an interface similar to that of the workbench.
Step 2. Put the objects to be merged in the top box
You can put two items in the furnace. Start by placing the object you want to edit at the top. Here are some examples of what you can achieve:
- Iron ores become iron ingots.
- Sand becomes glass.
- Raw food becomes cooked.
- Clay becomes brick.
- Wood becomes coal.
- The crushed stone becomes smooth stone.
Step 3. Add fuel
No transformation will happen until you add some fuel to power the furnace. You can put it in the lowest box. Any flammable item will do, but below you'll find the most common options:
- Coal is the most efficient item you can find in large quantities.
- Wood is even more common than coal, but it burns quickly.
- As an intermediate solution, try putting wood in the top box to get charcoal, then using that as fuel.
Step 4. Wait for cooking to finish
The furnace consumes fuel to run, but if you keep a steady supply, it will convert the entire stack of items you placed in the top box. The finished product will appear in the box on the right.
The furnace produces small flames when it is running. If the flames go out, there is no fuel or there is nothing left to melt
Advice
- It is recommended to build more furnaces, so as to be able to melt several objects at the same time. You can put the furnaces on top of each other and they will still work, so you could build a furnace wall if you wish.
- You can combine a furnace and a mining cart into one item. You can then use it on a rail like a normal trolley, but able to move on its own thanks to fuel.
- You can steal a furnace from a blacksmith's shop in a village, or (in Minecraft 1.9+) from an igloo. Building them is very simple, so there is usually no need for theft.
- You can use the pickaxe to break a furnace or workbench. Once broken, you can collect them to take them with you and place them wherever you like.
