In Minecraft, you can use a pickaxe to mine ore, stones, and a few other blocks. If you find better materials, you can mine more valuable ore and can break blocks faster. The first pickaxe you can make is out of wood.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Making a Wooden Pickaxe (Windows or Mac)
Step 1. Turn the tree trunk into wood
To turn a tree into wood, left-click the tree and hold. Repeat this step on several tree trunks.
Step 2. Open your inventory
You can open the inventory by pressing the E key. Look for the crafting box with dimensions of 2 x 2 next to your character's image. There is an arrow to the right of this box that points to the results box.
Step 3. Turn the logs into planks
Drag at least 3 wooden blocks into one of the slots in the 2 x 2 square. As a result, a wooden plank will appear there. Drag the board to your inventory.
Step 4. Make a craft table
Drag 4 wooden planks into the crafting area until they fill all four squares. Drag the crafting table into one of the quick slots at the bottom of the screen.
Step 5. Place your crafting table
Click the crafting table in the quick slots bar. Place the table in the world by right-clicking on any area on the ground.
Step 6. Right-click your crafting table
A crafting interface with a 3 x 3 dimension box will appear.
Step 7. Turn the wooden planks into sticks
Place one plank of wood directly on top of the second plank in the crafting area so that both planks turn into sticks. This can be done in the crafting table area or in the inventory.
Beginners often confuse wood with boards. This recipe won't work if you use logs
Step 8. Make a wooden pickaxe
Now you are ready to make the pickaxe. Right-click your crafting table and fill it in by following these steps:
- Fill the top row with plank until it's full.
- Place one stick in the middle of the middle row.
- Place another stick in the middle of the bottom row.
Step 9. Use your pickaxe
Drag your pickaxe to the quick slot and click the pickaxe to hold it. Now you can use the pickaxe by right-clicking and holding down the mouse to break up an object. Try breaking rocks with the pickaxe. It's much faster than using your hands, and you can get cobblestones instead of just destroying blocks.
A wooden pickaxe can be used to mine coal (black-spotted rock). Using a wooden pickaxe to mine iron ore (beige-spotted rock) or other more valuable ore will destroy blocks without dropping items. See in the next step to make a more sophisticated pickaxe
Method 2 of 3: Making a Wooden Pickaxe (Console or Pocket Edition)
Step 1. Cut down the tree
If you're using a game console, press and hold the right trigger button or R2 when facing a tree to turn it into wood. If you are using Pocket Edition, press and hold your finger on the tree. You will need a minimum of three wooden blocks.
Step 2. Open the crafting area
All players will start the game with basic level crafting skills. Here are a few ways to access them:
- Xbox: Press the X button.
- Playstation: Press the Square button.
- Xperia Play: Press Select.
- Another Pocket Edition: Open your inventory by tapping the three-dot icon, then tap Craft.
Step 3. Turn wood into planks
Choose a recipe for making wooden planks and turn all the wood into planks.
Console users have the option to use a more advanced crafting system than the computer version of Minecraft. See above for instructions on how to use the system
Step 4. Make a craft table
Next, choose the Crafting Table recipe to turn four planks into a crafting table. This will give you access to more recipes.
Step 5. Place your table
Place a crafting table in the world so you can gain access to a wider crafting menu.
- Console: Navigate to your speed slot using the D-pad or L1 button until the table is selected. Place the table with the left trigger button or L2.
- Pocket Edition: Tap the crafting table in the quick slot, then tap on the ground to place it.
Step 6. Make the sticks
Return to the crafting menu. You will now be presented with a much larger list of options. Select Sticks in the Materials tab. You will need two wooden planks.
Step 7. Make a wooden pickaxe
Now select the Wooden PICkaxe recipe in the Tools tab. The pickaxe will appear in your inventory as long as you have three boards and two sticks.
Step 8. Use the pickaxe to mine
If you select a quick slot bar with a pickaxe, the pickaxe will appear in your character's hand. When your character holds a pickaxe, you can break rock to make cobblestone and turn coal ore into coal. Don't break the more valuable ore without using a better pickaxe, as explained below.
Method 3 of 3: Making a Better Pickaxe
Step 1. Make a stone pickaxe
Making a stone pickaxe is one of the first priorities for mining. To get cobblestone, mine three stone blocks with a wooden pickaxe, then choose the stone pickaxe recipe. If you're using a computer, just follow the same recipe for making a wooden pickaxe but replace the wooden planks with stones. Some of the advantages of a stone pickaxe include:
- Breaks blocks faster than a wooden pickaxe
- Has a longer durability
- Can be used to mine iron ore (beige-spotted rock) and lapislazuli ore (dark blue-spotted rock)
Step 2. Make an iron pickaxe
Iron ore is usually easy to find by taking a short mining expedition or going to a shallow cave. Mine a minimum of three cream-spotted stone blocks, then turn them into pickaxes in the following way:
- Make a furnace using 8 cobblestones.
- Place iron ore in the top slot of the furnace, then place coal or other fuel in the bottom slot.
- Wait for the furnace to melt the ore into iron ingots.
- Make an iron pickaxe using 3 iron ingots and 2 sticks.
- An iron pickaxe can be used to mine all kinds of ores, including gold ore, diamonds, redstone, and emeralds.
Step 3. Learn how to make a gold pickaxe
This is probably the most useless pickaxe because it is weaker than the iron pickaxe. If you really like the shine, mine gold ore, melt it into gold ingots, then make a pickaxe. The process is the same as making an iron pickaxe as described above.
You can find gold ore around 32 blocks below sea level or lower
Step 4. Make a diamond pickaxe
Diamonds are a very rare ore and can only be found deep below the surface. If you can find this bright blue speckled stone, you can make a very strong diamond pickaxe that can last a very long time. You will need three diamonds and two sticks to make it.
