How do you make a furnace in Minecraft?
The cobblestone ring
A furnace is crafted at a crafting table with eight cobblestone blocks. Fill every square around the outside of the 3 by 3 grid and leave the middle square empty. Cobblestone is easy to get with a wooden or stone pickaxe, so this is one of the first crafts most players make.
Once placed, a furnace needs fuel and an input item. Coal, charcoal and wood all work as fuel, while ores, raw food and some other materials can be smelted.
- 8 cobblestone in a ring
- Leave the middle square empty
- Place the furnace where you can reach it easily
- Keep fuel and ores nearby
Keep it running
Furnaces smelt slowly, so place a few in a row if you have a lot of ore to process. Use the top slot for the item you want to smelt and the bottom slot for fuel. The output slot collects your finished products.
Blast furnaces and smokers are faster versions for specific items, but a basic furnace is enough for most early progression.
Common mistakes
- Filling the middle square and failing to craft the furnace.
- Putting fuel in the wrong slot, which stops smelting.
- Smelting one item at a time when a larger batch would save time.
