How To Craft A Forge In 7 Days To Die - Step-By-Step Guide

If you’ve been playing 7 Days to Die for more than a few in-game days, you’ve probably realised that crafting better tools, weapons, and base upgrades is tough without a Forge.

This essential workstation smelts raw materials into usable resources like Forged Iron, Steel, and Cement - all crucial for surviving the long haul.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll show you exactly how to craft a Forge in 7 Days to Die, what materials you’ll need, and how to get it running before that first blood moon.

First things first: like most things in 7 Days to Die, you’ll need the recipe:

Step 1: Unlock the Forge Recipe

Like most workstations in 7 Days to Die, you can’t build a Forge until you’ve learned the recipe.

To do this, you’ll need to find and read several copies of the Forge Ahead magazine - usually around four to five, depending on the game version you’re playing.

The good news? This magazine is pretty common.

You can loot it from bookshelves, newspaper stands, and mailboxes, and sometimes buy it directly from Traders.

Still Struggling? Invest Some Perk Points:

If you want to speed things up in the early game, invest points into Advanced Engineering.

Not only does it increase your chances of finding Forge-related magazines, but it also gives you extra perks, like earning XP from electrical trap kills, reduced material costs for Forge recipes, and cheaper electrical devices to craft.

Note: spending perk points here is not necessary, but if you find that you’re really struggling to get your forge up and running in the early game, it might be worth it.

Step 2: Gathering the Right Materials

Great, the Forge is unlocked, but now it's time to gather the right materials so you can build it in your base.

You’ll need to collect the following:

50 Cobblestone Rocks - Craftable from small stones and clay soil.
1 Wood - Chop down trees or use a Fireaxe.
10 Leather - Harvest from animals, sofas, or car seats.
3 Duct Tape - Craft from glue and cloth fragments, or loot from toolboxes and kitchens.
3 Short Iron Pipes - Found in sinks, toilets, or broken down from radiators and air conditioners.

On top of gathering the parts to build it, you’ll also need fuel to keep your Forge running.

Common fuel sources like wood and coal can be loaded directly into the Forge to power it. Each Forge can store a full stack of fuel (anywhere from 500 to 6,000 units, depending on the material).

Pro Tip: You can also toggle the Forge on and off at any time, allowing you to remove the fuel if you require it elsewhere.

Step 3: Craft and Place Your Forge

With the recipe unlocked and materials in your inventory, it’s as simple as:

Open your crafting menu and search for “Forge.”
Click craft - it’ll take a short amount of in-game time to complete.
Place the Forge somewhere secure in your base.
Once it’s placed, you’ll need fuel (wood or coal) to get it running.

Step 4: Put Your Forge to Work

When your Forge is running, you can smelt ores, scrap other old items you have lying around your base (more on this later ) into advanced resources key to your survival. In the Forge menu, choose a recipe from the list, load in the required materials, and start crafting.

Recipes show green if you have enough resources and red if you’re short.

Once you hit craft, the Forge processes the item automatically while you get on with other tasks. Some examples of what you can make in the forge:

Iron - From iron ore or scrap iron.
Clay - Used for moulds and bullet casings.
Lead - For crafting ammunition.

You can also add special Forge tools for extra benefits:

Anvil - Unlocks more crafting recipes and speeds up crafting.
Advanced Bellows - Increases smelting speed by 50%.
Crucible - Required for Forged Steel and other high-tier materials.

Recycle Old Weapons, Tools, and Armour

A Forge isn’t just for making new gear - it’s also your in-game recycling plant.

That rusty shovel, busted pistol, or random loot you’ll never use?

Smelt it down and reclaim valuable resources like iron, steel, brass, and lead.

This approach saves you two things every survivor needs: resources and time.

Bonus: Fastest Day 1–7 Forge Rush Plan

Want your Forge up and running before the first blood moon? Here’s a simple rush plan you can follow:

Day 1–2:

Loot every bookshelf, mailbox, and newspaper stand you see to hunt down Forge Ahead magazines.

Search for basic tools (axe, wrench) to help harvest materials faster.

Start collecting stones and clay for your Cobblestone Rocks.

Day 3–4:

Focus on finding leather. Hit every house (that looks relatively safe) for sofas and car seats.

Break down sinks, radiators, and toilets for Short Iron Pipes.

Loot kitchens and garages for glue and cloth to make duct tape.

Day 5:

Check Traders for any missing materials or Forge Ahead magazines you still require.

Keep farming wood logs - you’ll need them for both the Forge and fuel, and for plenty of other items to help ensure your survival.

Day 6:

Craft the Forge as soon as you’ve unlocked the recipe and gathered all parts.

Place it in a secure location (preferably your horde night base).

Day 7:

Start smelting iron and clay immediately to prepare Forged Iron for weapon and trap upgrades before nightfall.

With this plan, you’ll hit horde night armed with stronger defences, better weapons, and a production pipeline ready to keep you alive into the late game.

Crafting a Forge Is Only Half the Battle

Getting your Forge up and running in 7 Days to Die is a huge step. But there’s one thing the Forge can’t fix: lag, disconnects, or server crashes right when the blood moon hits.

If you’re tired of crafting the perfect setup only to rubber band across the map or lose progress, it’s time to move your apocalypse to a dedicated server.

Upgrade to Kinetic’s 7 Days to Die hosting and get:

Lag-free survival on high-performance hardware.
Full mod support so you can run your world your way.
Easy setup & control with a custom panel.
Scalable plans - perfect for a few friends or a massive community.
24/7 human support, not bots.

Don’t let a dodgy connection ruin your survival run. Build your Forge, upgrade your weapons, and face the horde with confidence - all on a reliable Kinetic Hosting server.