How to Make a Crafting Table in Minecraft: 4 Planks
Four wooden planks in your 2x2 inventory grid make a crafting table, no tools needed. How to make a crafting table in Minecraft and what to craft next.
A crafting table is 4 wooden planks placed in a 2x2 square. You can make it straight from your inventory: open it, put one plank in each of the four small crafting slots, and take the table. No other tools or blocks are needed.
From tree to table in about a minute
- Punch a tree. Hold the attack button on a log until it breaks. One log is enough, but grab three or four while you are there.
- Turn a log into planks. Put the log in any slot of your 2x2 inventory grid. One log gives 4 planks.
- Fill the 2x2 grid with planks. One in each slot.
- Place the table. Put it in your hotbar, look at the ground and use it. Now interact with it to open the 3x3 grid.
Any wood works: oak, spruce, birch, jungle, acacia, dark oak, mangrove, cherry, pale oak, poplar (added in 26.3), bamboo, crimson and warped. If you spawn in a desert with no trees, walk until you find one; there is no stone or alternative recipe.
Why the 3x3 grid matters
Your inventory only has a 2x2 grid, which covers planks, sticks, torches and a few other small recipes. Almost everything else needs three rows: pickaxes, swords, doors, a furnace, a chest, a bed, and most redstone parts. That is why the table is the first block worth making in every new world.
What to craft first
With the extra logs you collected, this order gets you through the first night:
- Sticks (2 planks stacked vertically) and a wooden pickaxe.
- Mine about 11 cobblestone, then make a stone pickaxe and a stone sword.
- Eight more cobblestone for a furnace, so you can cook food and make charcoal for torches.
- Wool from three sheep for a bed, if you can find them before dark.
Our complete beginner guide walks through the first day in more detail, and the survival tips page covers the habits that keep you alive after that.
A few handy details
- Carry a spare. A crafting table is cheap, and having one in your inventory means you can craft a new pickaxe deep in a cave instead of walking home.
- The recipe book (the green book icon) shows every recipe you have unlocked and can fill the grid for you if you have the materials.
- Crafting tables can’t be automated with hoppers in survival. For automatic crafting, use the separate crafter block added in 1.21.
Common questions
Do you need a crafting table to make a crafting table?
No. The recipe fits in the 2x2 grid in your own inventory, which is the whole point: it is the block that unlocks the 3x3 grid.
Does the wood type matter?
No. Any planks work, including bamboo, crimson and warped planks. The table looks the same whatever wood you use.
How do I open the crafting grid on console or mobile?
Place the table and interact with it: right-click on PC, the left trigger on most controllers, or tap and hold on touch screens.
Sources & verification
Facts on this page are checked against these references and in-game behavior for the stated edition(s). how we verify.
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