What a Smithing Tablet Does and How to Build One

A smithing table is a workbench in Minecraft that lets you upgrade diamond tools and armor to netherite — the game's strongest material. You place the diamond item and a netherite ingot into the table, and it produces the upgraded version. The table itself does not require power or fuel; it works when ready once you feed it the right materials.

Building one takes five minutes and costs materials you can gather in the Overworld or the Nether. The recipe is straightforward, and once built, the table sits in your base ready to use whenever you have the ingots and tools on hand.

Key Takeaways

  • A smithing table requires two iron ingots and four wooden planks, arranged in a specific pattern on a crafting table.
  • You can smelt iron ore in a furnace or blast furnace to make iron ingots if you do not have them yet.
  • Wooden planks come from any wood type — oak, birch, spruce, jungle, acacia, dark oak, or mangrove all work the same way.
  • Once placed in your world, the smithing table upgrades diamond gear to netherite when ready when you put both items in its slots.

Gathering Iron Ingots and Wooden Planks

You need two iron ingots and four wooden planks. If you already have these, skip to the crafting step. If not, start with iron ore. Mine iron ore with a stone pickaxe or better — wood and gold pickaxes will not work. Smelt the ore in a furnace at 200 degrees (the default temperature) for about 10 seconds per ore block. Each ore block becomes one ingot.

For wooden planks, chop any tree and collect the wood blocks. Open your inventory and place one wood block in a crafting slot — it will turn into four planks. You only need one wood block total to get the four planks the recipe calls for. All wood types work: oak, birch, spruce, jungle, acacia, dark oak, and mangrove are interchangeable for this recipe.

Crafting the Smithing Table on a Crafting Bench

Place a crafting table in front of you and open it. The smithing table recipe uses a 3×3 grid. Put the two iron ingots in the top row, left and middle slots. Put the four wooden planks in the remaining four slots: middle row left and middle, and bottom row left and middle. The bottom-right slot stays empty.

Once you place the items correctly, the smithing table will appear in the result slot on the right. Click it to move it to your inventory. If nothing appears, check that you have exactly two iron ingots and four planks, and that they are in the right positions.

Placing the Smithing Table in Your World

Hold the smithing table in your hand and right-click (or use your place block button) on the ground or on a block where you want it to sit. The table takes up one block of space and can be placed on any solid surface — dirt, stone, wood, or a floor in your base. It does not need to be near a furnace, water, or any other machine.

Once placed, you can right-click it to open the upgrade menu. The table is now ready to use. You can break it later with any tool or your hand, and it will drop as an item you can pick up and move.

Using the Smithing Table to Upgrade Diamond Gear

Right-click the smithing table to open its interface. You will see two input slots and one output slot. Put a diamond tool or piece of armor in the left slot — diamond pickaxe, sword, helmet, chestplate, leggings, or boots all work. Put a netherite ingot in the right slot. The upgraded netherite version will appear in the output slot when ready.

You can upgrade one item at a time. If you have multiple diamond tools, you will need multiple netherite ingots — one per tool. Netherite ingots come from smelting netherite scrap (found in the Nether) combined with gold ingots, so gathering them takes a trip to the Nether.

Where to Find Materials If You Are Stuck

If you cannot find iron ore, look underground between Y-level 0 and 72 (in newer versions, the range is wider). Iron ore appears as gray blocks with lighter speckles. Dig down with a stone pickaxe or better and collect what you find. A furnace smelts it into ingots.

If you need wood, any tree in the Overworld works. Chop the trunk with your hand or an axe — axes are faster but not required. Collect at least one block of wood and convert it to planks in your inventory. If you are in a biome with no trees, craft a crafting table from planks and use it to make sticks, then craft sticks into planks (two sticks make one plank).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a smithing table to upgrade anything other than diamond gear?

No. The smithing table only upgrades diamond tools and armor to netherite. It cannot upgrade iron, gold, stone, or wooden gear, and it cannot repair items. For repairs, use a grindstone or an anvil instead.

What happens if I put the wrong items in the smithing table?

Nothing happens. The output slot stays empty. Remove the items and try again with a diamond tool or armor piece and a netherite ingot. The table will not consume or destroy items that do not match the recipe.

Do I need multiple smithing tables, or can one table upgrade all my gear?

One table works for unlimited upgrades. You can upgrade as many diamond items as you want with the same table, as long as you have netherite ingots. There is no limit to how many times you can use it.

Where do I get netherite ingots?

Netherite ingots come from smelting netherite scrap in a furnace with gold ingots. Netherite scrap is found in the Nether between Y-levels 8 and 119. You need one netherite ingot per tool or armor piece you want to upgrade.