The Recipe: Three Planks and Two Sticks
To make a wooden pickaxe in Minecraft PC, you need three wooden planks and two sticks arranged in a specific pattern on a crafting table. Place the three planks across the top row of the crafting grid, then place one stick in the center square of the middle row and one stick directly below it in the center square of the bottom row. This creates the pickaxe head and handle.
The wooden pickaxe is one of the first tools most players craft because the materials are straightforward to gather. You can get wooden planks by breaking any wood block with your hand or any tool, and you can get sticks by breaking leaves or by crafting planks into sticks.
Key Takeaways
- You need three wooden planks in the top row and two sticks in the center column of a crafting table to make a wooden pickaxe.
- Wooden planks come from breaking wood blocks found on trees, which you can do with your bare hand.
- Sticks drop naturally from breaking leaves, or you can craft four planks into four sticks using a 2×2 pattern on any crafting surface.
- A wooden pickaxe can mine stone and coal ore, but it breaks faster than stone or iron pickaxes and cannot mine obsidian or diamonds.
- You craft the pickaxe on a crafting table, not in your inventory crafting grid, so you need to build or find a crafting table first.
Where to Find or Build a Crafting Table
If you do not have a crafting table yet, you need to make one first. A crafting table requires four wooden planks arranged in a 2×2 square in your inventory crafting grid (the small 2×2 grid you access by pressing E on PC). Once you have the crafting table, place it on the ground and right-click it to open the larger 3×3 crafting grid.
Alternatively, you can find a crafting table in villages, in the starting structures of some worlds, or in the inventory of a creative mode world. If you are in survival mode and do not have planks yet, break a tree by punching the wood blocks until they drop, then convert the wood into planks in your inventory grid.
Getting Wooden Planks
Wooden planks are the easiest material to gather in Minecraft. Walk up to any tree and punch the wood blocks until they break and drop as items. Each wood block gives you one wooden plank when it breaks. You need three planks for the pickaxe, so break at least three wood blocks from any tree.
If you already have wood blocks in your inventory, you can also convert them to planks by placing one wood block in any crafting grid slot. One wood block becomes one wooden plank. This is useful if you collected wood earlier and stored it.
Getting Sticks
Sticks are the second material you need. The fastest way to get them is to break leaves from trees. When you break leaves by hand or with a tool, they sometimes drop sticks. Break the leafy branches of a tree and collect the sticks that fall.
If you do not get enough sticks from leaves, you can craft them. Place two wooden planks vertically in your inventory crafting grid (one on top of the other in the same column) and you get four sticks. You need only two sticks for the pickaxe, so this method gives you extras.
The Crafting Grid Layout
When you open your crafting table, you see a 3×3 grid with nine squares. The wooden pickaxe pattern uses only five of these squares. Think of the grid as three rows and three columns.
| Plank | Plank | Plank |
| Empty | Stick | Empty |
| Empty | Stick | Empty |
Place the three planks in the top row. Leave the left and right squares of the middle row empty, and place one stick in the center square of the middle row. Leave the left and right squares of the bottom row empty, and place one stick in the center square of the bottom row. The pickaxe will appear in the result box on the right side of the crafting table.
What a Wooden Pickaxe Can and Cannot Mine
A wooden pickaxe can break stone, coal ore, and a few other basic blocks, but it is weak and breaks quickly. It cannot mine iron ore, gold ore, diamonds, obsidian, or any block that requires a stronger pickaxe. If you try to mine these blocks with a wooden pickaxe, they will break but will not drop as items.
The wooden pickaxe is a stepping stone. Use it to mine stone and coal, then craft a stone pickaxe from the stone you mined. A stone pickaxe is stronger and lasts longer. After that, you can work toward an iron pickaxe, which is stronger still.
What to Do After You Craft It
Once you have your wooden pickaxe, use it to mine stone blocks. Find a stone block (it looks gray and speckled) and right-click it with the pickaxe in your hand. The stone will break and drop as a stone block, which you can pick up. Collect at least three stone blocks and three sticks, then craft a stone pickaxe using the same pattern as the wooden one, but with stone blocks instead of wooden planks.
A stone pickaxe is much faster and more durable than a wooden one. After you have a stone pickaxe, you can mine iron ore, which is the next step in the tool progression. Iron ore looks like stone with tan or orange specks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I craft a wooden pickaxe in my inventory without a crafting table?
No. Your inventory crafting grid is only 2×2, which is too small for a pickaxe. You must build or find a crafting table and use its 3×3 grid. A crafting table requires four wooden planks arranged in a 2×2 square in your inventory grid.
What if I place the planks and sticks in the wrong squares?
The crafting table will not produce a pickaxe. The pattern must be exact: three planks in the top row and two sticks in the center column. If the result box stays empty, move your materials to the correct squares. The game will not let you craft the pickaxe until the pattern is right.
How long does a wooden pickaxe last before it breaks?
A wooden pickaxe can mine about 60 blocks before it breaks and disappears from your inventory. This is why it is a temporary tool. Once you have stone blocks, craft a stone pickaxe, which lasts much longer and mines faster.
Do I need a specific type of wood for the planks?
No. Any wood block from any tree—oak, birch, spruce, jungle, acacia, or dark oak—converts into planks that work for the pickaxe. All wooden planks are identical for crafting purposes.
Can I make a wooden pickaxe in creative mode?
Yes, but in creative mode you can also just grab a pickaxe directly from the creative inventory without crafting. Press E to open the creative menu, search for "wooden pickaxe" or "pickaxe", and click it to add one to your inventory.