How do you make a bucket in Minecraft?
Crafting a bucket
You need three iron ingots to craft a bucket. Put two ingots in the top row at the left and right edges, then put one in the middle of the second row. The bottom middle square stays empty, which creates the V shape the recipe requires.
Iron ingots come from smelting iron ore in a furnace. Once you have a bucket, you can scoop up water or lava from a source block and place it somewhere else.
- 3 iron ingots in a V shape
- Leave the bottom middle empty
- Smelt iron ore in a furnace for ingots
- Use it on water or lava to fill
Useful things to do with it
Water buckets are helpful for stopping falls, creating water streams for farming and putting out fires. Milk buckets come from cows and can clear some status effects. Lava buckets can be used to light things or build obsidian, but handle them with care.
Keep one empty bucket in your inventory at all times. Many builds and farms need one, and it is easy to forget until you need it. Empty buckets stack in your inventory, but filled buckets do not, so plan your slots accordingly.
Common mistakes
- Placing the iron ingots in a pattern that is not a V shape.
- Pouring lava near your base without a plan to contain it.
- Forgetting to carry an empty bucket on long trips.
