How to make metal bars in Dwarf Fortress

dwarf-fortress

I am really at loss as to how to make metal bars. It keeps asking me for refined coal, but I can't find any, and even if I did, I don't know what buildings I require for it. I would really appreciate a total idiot's outline to making metal bars.

Best Answer

This is a complicated question, so I'm going to distill the basics and point you to Wiki entries for specifics.

Let's say for example you want to make an iron bar and have nothing but the required raw materials. First you need fuel (assuming you don't have easy access to magma).

Fuel

Fuel is either charcoal (from wood) or coke (from lignite or bituminous coal). Charcoal is made at a Wood Furnace b-e-w by a Wood Burner. This requires one wood. Production is one charcoal

Coke is made at a Smelter b-e-s by a Furnace Operator. Ingredients are one fuel and either a lignite or a bituminous coal. If lignite, the production is two fuel. If bit. coal, the production is three fuel.

So bit. coal is the fastest, most efficient way to make fuel if you have access to it. The trick is in order to start making fuel from bit. coal you need one unit of fuel, so you'll usually have to make a charcoal first.

Details here: http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/DF2010:Fuel

Metal Bars

Now that you have fuel, you can convert your iron-bearing ore to iron bars. Metal bars are made at a Smelter by a Furnace Operator. Ingredients are one iron-bearing ore and one fuel. This produces one iron bar. (Iron ores are limonite, hematite, and magnetite.)

Iron is simple, but metal alloys like steel have a more complicated process. The Dwarf Fortress Wiki is your best source for specific info there.

List of various metals here: http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Metal

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