Minecraft resource gathering/Wood

Introduction

Wood is a very important resource in Minecraft, as it is usually the first useful item players gather when they start the game.

Acquiring

Wood is obtained by hitting the trunk of a tree, and this can, infamously, be done without any tools, however, using an axe is quicker and easier. This drops a log block, the most basic wood type.

Raw logs are not that useful as they are. To use them for most things, you must turn them into planks. Put your logs in one of the slots of the crafting grid in your inventory, and you will get 4 wood planks (indicated by the "4" beside it) appear in the output slot. Craft it by taking the 4 planks out of the output slot. This will use up a single log, allowing you to craft again. Shift-click (with keyboard and mouse) or press X (with controller) to craft as many as possible.

Variants

Just as in real life, Wood in Minecraft comes in a number of varieties based on the kind of tree it is obtained from.

Tree variants

A Tree is where you get Wood from. There are 8 different types of trees.

1. Oak
2. Spruce
3. Acacia
4. Jungle
5. Dark Oak
6. Birch

Two of which are found in the Nether.

1. Warped Fungus
2. Crimson Fungus

Craftable variants

You can craft a special kind of log called "Wood". This log has the log texture on all six sides, making it great for landscaping and decoration.

Both log blocks and "wood" can be stripped by holding an axe and pressing the use button when looking at one.

Use

Wood has so many uses, it would fill a whole book just to list them all! Some common uses, though, are explained here.

Building

Absolutely not recommended as wood is flammable. You should only build with wood if you have nothing else to build with or you are in creative mode.

Warped fungus and Crimson fungus (in both log and plank varieties) are not flammable, and so make great base decorations.

Fuel

Wood makes a great fuel, but charcoal is much better. To make charcoal, smelt a log in a furnace. Charcoal is also used in torches and campfires.