Top 5 uses of the blast furnace in Minecraft

Blast furnaces smelt twice as quickly as furnaces (Image via Mojang)
Blast furnaces smelt twice as quickly as furnaces (Image via Mojang)

A powerful block that sports double the smelting power of a Minecraft furnace, blast furnaces are constructed of smooth stone, iron ingots, and a standard furnace.

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Operating similar to furnaces with respect to their UI in Minecraft, blast furnaces primarily smelt raw ore, ore blocks, and tools and armor made of iron, gold, or chainmail.

This makes its operation slightly different compared to furnaces but also gives it some particularly unique features that its counterpart can't match. In this light, blast furnaces can be compared to smoker blocks, which are geared towards cooking food faster than furnaces. Blast furnaces have more than a few uses, and it's not a bad idea to keep them in mind.


The best uses for blast furnaces in Minecraft

5) Creating armorer villagers

An armorer and its blast furnace (Image via Mojang)
An armorer and its blast furnace (Image via Mojang)

In addition to adding services to players in Minecraft, blast furnaces serve as a job site block for villagers. If an unemployed villager claims a blast furnace as a job site block, then they can become armorers.

These villagers facilitate trades primarily centered around chainmail, iron, and diamond armor, as well as objects like bells. This can help increase a player's variety within their village, opening up the availability of more trades.


4) Using it as a light source

A blast furnace giving off its own light source (Image via YouTube/OMGCraft)
A blast furnace giving off its own light source (Image via YouTube/OMGCraft)

Much like ordinary furnaces in Minecraft, blast furnaces give off a light level of 13 when they are active. Although it would be difficult to keep a blast furnace as a continuous light source due to the amount of fuel it consumes in short order, it can still be quite helpful if players can keep it lit.

After the rework of hostile mobs in the Caves & Cliffs update, any light level above zero should keep hostile mobs from popping up. With that in mind, a running blast furnace can keep hostile mobs from spawning and surprising Minecraft players.

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3) Smelting ore quickly

Copper, iron, and gold ore in their raw form (Image via Twitter/JasperBoerstra)
Copper, iron, and gold ore in their raw form (Image via Twitter/JasperBoerstra)

Although blast furnaces smelt just as many items as furnaces do when it comes to fuel expenditure, they do so at a much faster speed. Specifically, blast furnaces can quickly smelt raw ore into ingots.

Since they smelt so quickly, these blocks are ideal for grabbing ingots in a hurry. In a few short moments, Minecraft players can have the ingots they need for crafting and don't need to wait around for the furnace's smelting process to complete.


2) Quickly smelting ore blocks

Gold, iron, and copper in their raw and ingot forms as well as their ore blocks (Image via Mojang)
Gold, iron, and copper in their raw and ingot forms as well as their ore blocks (Image via Mojang)

Much like raw ore, blast furnaces in Minecraft can smelt ore blocks obtained through methods such as using a Silk Touch-enchanted pickaxe. Furnaces can do the same, of course, but blast furnaces can do the same at an expedited pace.

Back in previous versions of Minecraft, players could only smelt ore blocks, as they were what dropped when an ore block was broken. After the advent of raw ore, both raw ores and ore blocks became smeltable. Fortunately for blast furnaces, they can smelt both at a faster clip than ordinary furnaces.

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1) Smelting gear back into materials

Blast furnaces can quickly smelt certain gear back into their base metals (Image via Mojang)
Blast furnaces can quickly smelt certain gear back into their base metals (Image via Mojang)

Arguably one of the best functions in Minecraft for blast furnaces, the blocks can smelt iron, gold, and chainmail armor back down into their base metals. Specifically, the items will be converted back into iron and gold nuggets, which can then be reconstructed into ingots if desired. The speed blast furnaces can get the job done is also impressive, making it the quickest and most efficient way to melt down spare or unused pieces of gold, iron, or chainmail armor in a hurry.

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