We’ll be starting with one of the most fundamental utility blocks in the game: the furnace.
What is A Furnace?
A furnace is a utility block that can smelt ores and metallic items and can also cook food. It is mainly used to craft more complex materials, extract metal from ores, cook food, and even upgrade your gear or tools. A furnace can be found in villages, but the easiest way to get one is to craft it yourself.
How To Craft A Furnace
Since the furnace is an essential block, it’s quite easy to craft. All you’ll need are two things: Since this guide is for beginners, we’ll be using cobblestone as the source of stone, as it is the easiest stone block to obtain.
1. Crafting Table
Before crafting a furnace, the Crafting Table is the most essential block in all of Minecraft. It expands the crafting grid’s capacity from a 2×2 to a 3×3 grid. Here’s how you can craft a crafting table in Minecraft:
2. Cobblestone
Cobblestone is the most common stone in Minecraft. It can be found by digging just below the ground level. We’ll be needing a total of 8 blocks.
Crafting the furnace
Now that you’ve gathered all the necessary materials, place the cobblestones exactly as shown in the crafting table grid. Place the crafted furnace in your inventory. Equip it and set it somewhere in your base.
Using a Furnace
The furnace is quite user-friendly. To open the furnace menu, stand next to it and right-click on PC or press the left trigger (ZL on Switch, L2 on PlayStation, and LT on Xbox). On the furnace menu, you will see 2 slots on the left-hand side and 1 slot on the right. The right slot is for the output, while the left-hand slots are for the inputs. The two slots are positioned at the top and bottom. In the top slot, place the item you want to smelt or cook. In the bottom slot, place the fuel. The smelting process will begin automatically. You can pause it anytime by removing an item from any of the two left slots. The process will continue until either of the items is completely used up.
↪ Fuel
Similar to a real-life furnace, a furnace in Minecraft also needs fuel to generate heat. Fuel is typically any flammable substance placed in the bottom slot of the furnace menu. The most commonly used fuel sources are: Any items made of wood may also be used as fuel.
Types of Furnace
There are a total of three kinds of furnaces: What we’ve been discussing so far is the normal furnace. Let’s talk about the other two types:
1. Blast Furnace
A blast furnace is a variant of the furnace that exclusively performs the smelting function. It does not cook food. The blast furnace performs the smelting process at twice the speed of a normal furnace, all at the same fuel cost. It can smelt metallic items and ores, using the exact same layout as a normal furnace.
2. Smoker
A smoker is another variant of the furnace that exclusively cooks food at twice the rate of a normal furnace. It cannot smelt ores, metallic items, or other materials. A smoker is usually used to create more complex ingredients or dishes that can replenish your health to a greater extent than raw food. It employs the same layout as a furnace and has the same fuel cost.
3. Minecart with Furnace
A Minecart with a furnace is not technically a variant of the furnace, as it doesn’t really provide a material output like a normal furnace. Instead, it functions as an engine for the minecart. You add fuel to the furnace, and the minecart moves according to the rail tracks it is placed on. The duration of its travel depends on the amount of fuel you provide.
How does a normal furnace compare to its variants?
