A Complete Guide to Tinkers' Construct

Tinkers’ Construct is a classic Minecraft mod that first appeared in the early versions of the game and remains popular with both new and experienced players. The mod focuses on crafting and customizing tools in creative and flexible ways. You can design unique tools, upgrade them as you progress, and even rename them, making each creation truly your own.

Unlike regular Minecraft tools, Tinkers’ Construct tools never break permanently. Once crafted, they can always be repaired or improved, becoming a long term part of your adventure.

In addition to tool building, the mod adds new creatures, inventory upgrades, and a variety of decorative and functional blocks.

This guide will cover installing the mod, exploring the first in-game book, building and using the Smeltery, and adding modifiers. You will learn everything you need to get started, along with helpful tips to make your Tinkers’ Construct experience simple, enjoyable, and rewarding.

Installing Tinkers Construct

Before you begin, make sure Tinkers Construct is downloaded and ready. The mod available on CurseForge or Modrinth. Download the Tinkers Construct file for the mod loader and game version you want to use. Tinkers Construct is available for both Forge and NeoForge. 

🛑Important: Tinkers Construct requires an extra mod called Mantle to be installed alongside it to work. 

Install with the CurseForge app

If you use the CurseForge app, installation is quick and straightforward. Simply search for Tinkers’ Construct in the app and install it to a new or preexisting profile if compatible.

The app will automatically handle any required dependencies, such as Mantle, so you don’t have to install them manually.

Install with the regular Minecraft launcher

⚠️Note: This section assumes you already have a mod loader installed. If not, check out our guide here to learn how to set it up before continuing!

If you use the regular launcher with a mod loader, install the mod manually:

1. Open the Intsallation Folder for the profile you use to launch Minecraft.

2. Find the mods folder. If you don’t see one, you can create it manually or simply launch the game once. Minecraft will automatically generate the folder for you. 

3. Move the Tinkers Construct .jar file into the mods folder along with any other required mods like Mantle.

Using Tinkers Construct on a server

If you have a server with us, you can add the mod there as well! Just make sure your server is configured to support mods and uses the same Minecraft version and mod loader as your client.

For detailed, step-by-step instructions, check out our full installation guide here.

Getting Started With Tinkers’ Construct

When you spawn into a new world with the Tinkers’ Construct mod installed, you will find a special book in your first inventory slot. This book is called Materials and You. It serves as an introduction to the mod, explaining how to get started, craft tools, and gather important resources for survival.

As you progress, you'll have access to more books which show you how to create higher tier items.

When you open the book, you will see that it is divided into several section to help you learn step by step. Let’s begin with the first section.

Section 1: Introduction

The Introduction chapter covers the basics of Tinkers’ Construct, including how to begin crafting and understanding the main tools you will use throughout your adventure.

Creating Patterns

The first thing you will need to craft is patterns, which are used to make tool parts and worktables. To craft patterns, combine two planks and two sticks in your crafting table. This recipe will give you three patterns.

Building a Part Builder

Next, create a Part Builder, which is used to shape tool parts. To craft one, combine two patterns and two planks. Once crafted, place the Part Builder on the ground and right-click to open it.

To create a part, place a blank pattern into the Part Builder and add a soft material (such as wood or cobblestone) that can be shaped. The finished part will appear in the window on the right. You can also reshape parts made from soft materials if needed. In the right menu, you'll see a bunch of useful information regarding the part being built to understand the amount of materials you need and the results of the part being created.

Crafting a Tinker Station

Once you have the necessary parts for a tool, the next step is to create a Tinker Station. This workstation allows you to assemble tools, weapons, and gear from the parts you have created. You can also apply modifiers here to improve or customize your equipment.

To make a Tinker Station, combine three patterns and four planks. Place the table on the ground and right-click to open it. 

As you progress you'll be able to create higher tier Tink Stations to allow for the creation of higher tier items that are not craftable on a normal Tinker Station.

When you open the Tinker Station, you will see a variety of crafting layouts on the left side. Select the layout for the item you wish to make. For example, to craft a pickaxe, choose the pickaxe layout and then insert the correct parts into their slots.

Parts that are correctly placed will appear white, while missing parts will show as red.

Once all required parts are in place, the finished tool will appear in the result box. Take the item, and congratulations, you have crafted your first Tinkers’ Construct tool!

You can use this same process to make other tools, weapons, and gear.

Storage and Part Chests

As you begin crafting more parts, you will need storage space to keep everything organized. Tinkers’ Construct provides Part Chests and Tinker Chests for this purpose.

• Part Chests store specific tool parts. Each slot can hold up to eight stacks of a single part type.
  • To craft a Part Chest, use one pattern, four sticks, one plank, and one chest. You can also add dye to color your chest after crafting it.
• Tinker Chests can hold any type of item. Each chest has 64 slots, and each slot can hold up to 16 items.
  • To craft a Tinker Chest, use one pattern, four lapis lazuli, one plank, and one chest.
    

Now that you understand the basics of getting started, you are ready to move on to the next chapter, which covers Tier 1 materials and how to use them to create tools and equipment. As you continue to play, you will unlock additional books that explain higher tier materials and advanced crafting techniques.

Section 2: Tier 1 General

In this section, you will learn about Tier 1 materials, which are the most basic resources used to craft tool parts for melee weapons and harvesting tools. These materials can be placed in the Part Builder to create parts for your early-game equipment and each have their own unique stats. These materials can be used to craft numermous harvesting tools and weapons to help you get started out. 

The following are classified as Tier 1 materials:

Wood and Rock

Flint and Bone

Copper and Chorus

String and Leather

Vine

These simple materials form the foundation of your early survival in Tinkers’ Construct. They are easy to find and perfect for crafting your first tools before moving on to stronger materials in later tiers.

Section 3: Tier 1 Ranged

This section covers materials used to craft parts for ranged weapons, such as bows and other projectile tools. Each material provides unique stats that affect how your weapon performs, including draw speed, accuracy, and durability.

These materials can be placed in the Part Builder just like melee or harvesting tool parts. Experimenting with different combinations will help you find the perfect balance between power and precision for your ranged setup.

Wood & Bone

Copper & Bamboo

Chours & String

Leather & Vine

Section 4: Tools

This section focuses on the tools and weapons that can be crafted using Tier 1 materials along with repairing and recycling them Each item serves a specific purpose and can be customized to fit your play style.

Below is a list of tools and weapons available in Tier 1:

• Crossbow
• Dagger
• Flint and Brick
• Hand Axe
• Kama
• Mattock
• Pickadze (Pick Mattock)
• Pickaxe
• Sword

These tools form the foundation of your early game crafting and exploration. You can use them for mining, combat, and gathering materials efficiently.

Repairing Tools

To repair a tool, place it in either the Tinker Station or Tinker Anvil along with the material that matches the tool’s head. Higherr tier tools require a higer tier Tinker Table.

You can also use Repair Kits, which allow you to fix tools directly from your inventory or crafting table. To use a repair kit, simply right-click the tool with the kit in your hand.

Part Swapping

If you want to upgrade or change one of your tool’s parts, place the tool and the new part into the Tinker Station. For tools that have multiple parts of the same type, you may need to try different slots to ensure the correct one is replaced.

Armor parts can often be swapped using a crafting table, following a similar process. Upgrading higher tier items required the correct tier Tinker Station. 

Recycling Tools

You can disassemble tools in the Part Builder to recover some of the materials used to craft them. When recycling, you will always salvage at least one part, and tools that are fully repaired have a higher chance of yielding a second part.

Daggers require stacking two of them together in order to recycle successfully.

Section 5: Modifiers

This section focuses on Modifiers, which are special upgrades you can apply to your crafted tools, weapons, and armor. Modifiers work similarly to enchantments in Minecraft but offer much greater flexibility and customization. Each modifier provides unique effects that can enhance performance, add new abilities, or increase durability.

Modifiers are one of the most exciting parts of Tinkers’ Construct, allowing you to fully personalize your equipment to match your play style. Experimenting with different combinations can lead to powerful results and unique ways to play the game.

Modifiers are divided into several main categories, each serving a specific purpose:

Traits

Traits are natural abilities that come built into tools and weapons when they are created. There are two main types of traits:

• Material Traits – These come from the materials used to craft each part of the tool.
• Tool Traits – These are native to the type of tool itself.

For example, using certain materials might make a tool mine faster or deal more damage, while the type of tool you create (such as a sword or pickaxe) may add its own built-in effect.

More information on traits can be found in the following in-game books:

• Materials and You
• Thruul M’Gon’s Puny and Mighty Smelting
• Nemea’s Fantastic Foundry

Each book covers different tiers of materials and their corresponding traits. Tool traits are primarily detailed in Materials and You and Mighty Smelting.

Upgrades

Upgrades are standard improvements that boost a tool’s overall performance. These are usually applied by using certain items that transfer part of their magical or mechanical properties to the tool.

For example, adding redstone can make a tool faster. Most tools begin with three upgrade slots, though additional slots can be unlocked through certain modifiers or special effects.

Upgrades are a great way to tailor your tools to your preferred play style, whether you value speed, durability, or power.

Slotless Modifiers

Slotless Modifiers are unique because they do not consume modifier slots. However, they often include tradeoffs or provide smaller effects compared to standard modifiers.

One special kind of slotless modifier is a Bonus Modifier, which grants extra modifier slots that can then be used for other enhancements. A full list of available slotless modifiers and their effects can be found in Thruul M’Gon’s Puny Smelting.

Abilities

Abilities are powerful modifiers that can significantly change how a tool behaves. They often provide special effects that alter gameplay in meaningful ways.

For example:

• Silky allows you to harvest blocks without breaking them, similar to the Silk Touch enchantment.
• Auto-Smelt automatically smelts blocks when mined.

Most tools start with one ability slot and can gain up to two additional ability slots.  For a complete list of abilities, refer to Thruul M’Gon’s Mighty Smelting.

Defense Modifiers

Defense Modifiers are exclusive to armor and focus on improving protection and survivability. These modifiers can help reduce damage from specific sources such as fire or knockback, offering another way to customize your defensive gear.

Armor pieces with more defense slots typically begin with fewer upgrade slots, encouraging a balance between offense and defense. A complete list of defense modifiers is available in Thruul M’Gon’s Mighty Smelting.

Section 6: Further Reading

This section provides information regarding more books as we mentioned earlier to allow you to craft higer level tier items or tools in game. It's suggested to create a lectern to place all of your books on to reference if needed. A Full list of in-game book names can be found below

• Selena Materials & You
• Thruul M’Gon’s Puny Smelting
• Thruul M’Gon’s Mighty Smelting
• Melvin Tinker Gadgetry
• Nemer Fantastic Foundry

Now that you're aware of the basics, we're going to focus on some other important aspects of the mod such as Smeltry, which is used in the creation of higher-tier weapons and tools using metal and alloys.

Tinker's Smeltry

The Smeltery is a powerful structure that allows you to melt down metals and craft advanced alloys for stronger tools and weapons. It can process a variety of materials, including ores, ingots, metal blocks, and even obsidian. This section will help you understand the essentials of how the Smeltery works and how to get started with building and using it effectively.

Building Your First Smeltery

To create a basic Smeltery, you will need the following materials:

• 18 Seared Bricks
• 1 Smeltery Controller
• 1 Seared Fuel Gauge
• 1 Smeltery Drain
• 1 Seared Faucet
• 1 Casting Basin or 1 Casting Table
• 3 Buckets of Lava

Step 1: Create the Base

Start by placing a 3x3 layer of Seared Bricks in the ground. Many players prefer to build this base one block deep into the ground so that the Smeltery sits flush with the surface, as shown in the example below.

Step 2: Build the Walls

Next, build a single layer of Seared Bricks around the 3x3 base, leaving one side open for the Smeltery Controller, Seared Fuel Gauge, and Smeltery Drain. The corner blocks are optional and don’t count toward the structure, so you can leave them empty if you’d like. Once finished, it should look similar to the example shown below.

💡Tip: You can make the Smeltery taller by stacking additional layers on top. Each new layer adds 9 extra processing slots, allowing you to melt more materials at once. Walls can be built with any combination of Seared Brick, Seared Glass, or Seared Windows.

Step 3: Install the Functional Blocks

Place the Smeltery Controller in one of the open spaces, the Seared Fuel Gauge in another, and the Smeltery Drain in the last opening. The Drain can face any direction but must be placed on a wall block, not in a corner.

At this point, you should also place your Seared Faucet on your Smeltry Drain.

Next, place your Casting Basin or Casting Table directly beneath the Seared Faucet, depending on what you plan to make. The example below shows a Casting Table being used.

• The Casting Basin is used for creating solid blocks of material. Metal blocks require the equivalent of nine ingots, while other materials such as obsidian, glass, or sand will use the same total amount of material that was melted in the Smeltery.
• The Casting Table is used for crafting casts and tool parts from molten metals. You can pour Aluminum Brass or Gold into the table to create casts, which are then used to form new metal tools and components.

💡Tip: If you’re using a Casting Table, make sure to create Blank Sand Casts as well. These are needed before you can pour molten metals into the molds to craft specific tool parts.

You'll also need to create any parts using the Part Builder like an tool handle, pick head, and tool binding if you're creating a pickaxe. 

If you are using a Casting Table, start by placing a Blank Sand Cast on the table.

Next, place the tool part you want to copy into the cast.

Then remove it once the mold has been formed.

If you are using a Casting Basin, there is nothing else you need to do for now.

Powering and Using the Smeltery

To activate your Smeltery, fill the Seared Fuel Gauge with lava. You can do this by right clicking with a bucket of lava or by connecting fluid pipes that can carry lava. Lava acts as the fuel that heats the Smeltery. When everything is working correctly, the Smeltery Controller and Drain will light up.

Once fueled, right click the Smeltery Controller to open its interface:

• Left Panel: Shows the available processing slots, with more added for each additional Smeltery layer.
• Center Section: Displays the molten metals currently inside. You can see how much of each metal you have and in what order they will pour. In newer versions, you can change the pour order by clicking on a liquid.
• Right Bar: Indicates the remaining lava fuel. The more lava you have, the faster materials will melt. If the fuel runs out, the Smeltery will stop working.

The Smeltery Controller has different modes, including auto, empty item, and fill item. For now, leave it on the default auto mode so you can focus on learning the basics. 

After adding fuel to the Smeltry, you can begin placing Raw metal material into the left panel which is the processing slots. To easily add items to the left panel, shift left click.

You'll notice a progression bar appear near each item being proccessed.

Once you're done processing your raw material, you can begin pouring the metail into the Casting Table or Casting Basin depending on what you setup.

Modifying Items

Modifiers are special upgrades you can add to your tools, weapons, and armor in Tinkers Construct. They work like enchantments but offer more flexibility and customization. 

Modifiers can:

• Improve durability so your tools last longer
• Increase speed or damage for faster mining and stronger attacks
• Add special effects such as auto smelting or silk touch
• Customize armor to provide extra protection or resistances

Adding Modifiers

1. Open a Tinker Station.

2. Place the tool or piece of armor you want to modify in the station.

3. Add the required material for the modifier, such as a block, redstone, or other item. 

4. Use the right display box that shows the item stats to see the additonas being added. You can also hover your mouse over the item in the output slot to see the modifiers.

5. Once you have confirmed the changes and are happy with the modifiers, remove the item from the output box to complete the process. 

💡Note: Some modifiers use slots, while others, called slotless modifiers, do not. Experimenting with different combinations allows you to fully customize your tools and armor to match your play style.

Now that you understand the basics of adding modifiers, be sure to check the modifiers section in each book you receive as you progress. This will help you learn which tools and armor can be modified and what materials or effects are available at each tier, allowing you to plan upgrades and improvements.

As you progress through the mod, Tinkers’ Construct has many advanced features and materials that are not covered here. For additional help, guides, and tutorials, you can consult online resources such as:

• The official Tinkers’ Construct 3 wiki for detailed information on tools, materials, and modifiers.

  • For previous versions of Tinkers' Construct, see Tinkers' Construct or Tinkers' Construct 2

• Community forums and Minecraft modding communities for tips and strategies.

• Video tutorials on platforms like YouTube for visual demonstrations of building and using the Smeltery and applying modifiers.

Exploring these resources alongside practice in your own world will help you fully master Tinkers’ Construct and make the most of its features.

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