Metals

TFC has 22 metals, of which 10 are Alloys. They are split into tiers, 1 to 6, each of which is an advancement in the technology tree bringing improvements such as durability and strength. Metals can be processed in 3 unique ways.

Metals

ToDo: Something is missing! Help fill out the following missing information: Rewrite the rest of the info here.

Metal Ingots can be welded on Anvils one Tier lower than the Ingot. This allows for the player to weld Ingots into Double Ingots to create the next Tier of Anvil. All other smithing and welding must be done on an Anvil of equal or higher Tier.

Metal Name	Anvil	Tool	Castable	Armor	Tuyere	Tier	Alloy
Bismuth	X	X	✔	X	X	0	X
Tin	X	X	✔	X	X	0	X
Zinc	X	X	✔	X	X	0	X
Copper	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	1	X
Bronze	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	2	✔
Bismuth Bronze	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	2	✔
Black Bronze	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	2	✔
Brass	X	X	✔	X	X	2	✔
Lead	X	X	✔	X	X	2	X
Gold	X	X	✔	X	X	2	X
Rose Gold	X	X	✔	X	X	2	✔
Silver	X	X	✔	X	X	2	X
Sterling Silver	X	X	✔	X	X	2	✔
Platinum	X	X	X	X	X	3	X
Wrought Iron	✔	✔	X	✔	✔	3	X
Nickel	X	X	X	X	X	4	X
Pig Iron	X	X	X	X	X	4	X
Steel	✔	✔	X	✔	✔	4	X
Black Steel	✔	✔	X	✔	✔	5	✔
Blue Steel	✔	✔	X	✔	✔	6	✔
Red Steel	✔	✔	X	✔	✔	6	✔
Unknown Metal	X	X	X	X	X	-1	✔

• ¹For compatibility reasons, double ingots, sheets and double sheets can be made from any metal. However, not every item has a valid use. This chart shows items which have a valid use in vanilla TFC. If you make a useless item, it can be recycled back into molten metal in a Crucible, or in a Forge that has ceramic molds in the side slots.
• ²Unknown Metal is created by mixing an incorrect ratio of metals in a Crucible.

Metal Processing

Metal Processing is carried out by 3 distinct methods: Melting & Casting, the Bloomery and the Blast Furnace. Melting & Casting are for processing the non-iron metals ores and for alloying, whereas the Bloomery is for Wrought Iron production, and the Blast Furnace is for production of Steel.

Melting & Casting

Melting and casting will be your first endeavor into working with metals. Melting can be applied to raw ores, existing metal objects (e.g. ingots or unwanted tools, armor, or anvils), or solidified liquid metal. Melting iron ores is not useful as they melt into unknown metal; melting any other type of ore, or any type of metal object (including iron), results in the expected metal. Melting is achieved by any of the following methods:

• Heat ore or metal objects in a firepit without a grill, or a forge. Place an empty small vessel or mold, or one containing some unshaped metal of the same type as the objects being melted, in the output slot of the firepit or the storage slot of the forge. Once the item reaches the metal’s melting temperature, it will become liquid and appear in the container. Since the container is not being heated and the metal has just barely reached melting point, the metal will immediately solidify in the container and begin cooling. This method cannot be used in a pit kiln because the liquid metal will soak into the ground and disappear; there is no way to catch it in a container and use it. This method cannot be used for creating alloys because the liquid will only flow into a container holding the same type of metal (e.g. copper will not flow into a container holding tin, so bronze cannot be made); however, metal objects already made of an alloy can be melted back into that alloy’s unshaped form.

• Heat a small vessel or mold containing solidified metal in a firepit without a grill, forge, pit kiln, or crucible. Once the container reaches the metal’s melting point, the metal will melt back into liquid form in the container. In the case of a crucible, the liquid metal will then slowly pour from the container into the crucible. This method can be used for alloying with a crucible (but not a firepit, forge, or pit kiln) by combining different types of metal in the crucible.

• Heat a small vessel containing ore in a forge, pit kiln, or crucible. Once the container reaches the Brilliant White temperature, the ore will turn into liquid metal in the vessel. In the case of a crucible, the liquid metal will then slowly pour from the container into the crucible. This method can be used for alloying by placing ores of different types in the vessel in the proper proportions before heating it.

• Heat ore or metal objects in a crucible. Place the items in the left inventory grid. Once the items reach the metal’s melting point, they will melt and the liquid will be added to the crucible’s contents. This method can be used for alloying by combining different types of metal in the crucible.

In all cases, metals will not melt if they are not hot enough. This limits the types of metals that can be melted and may require the use of a bellows to increase temperature. For example, melting copper over a firepit only works with the use of bellows, while ores in vessels cannot be melted on a firepit at all because a firepit cannot be heated to Brilliant White, even with bellows. Even the much hotter forge or crucible will require bellows to melt some higher-tier metals. A pit kiln always gets hot enough to melt any metal in any form, and is a good starting point for early-game metalwork.

Once you have liquid metal, you can pour it between containers of various types until it cools and solidifies. Alloys can be made at this point by mixing liquid metals in a crucible; however, alloys cannot be made by mixing liquids in other containers, as containers other than the crucible only accept liquid metal if they are empty or already contain the same type of metal. Ingots of any metal can be made by filling an ingot mold with liquid metal and letting it cool. Tools can be made by filling tool molds, but only with copper or bronze (higher-tier tools need to be worked on an anvil rather than cast, and such metals cannot be poured into tool molds).

Bloomery

The Bloomery is where you will make an Iron Bloom that is then turned into Wrought Iron. This is the only way of getting Wrought Iron as melting Iron will give you nothing.

Blast Furnace

A Blast Furnace is your gateway to Steel and all the Steel Alloys. Smelting Iron Ore in a blast furnace will give you Pig Iron that is then worked into steel.

Temperatures

Each metal has 4 specific temperature ranges that indicate the work you can do with it: Unworkable, Workable, Weldable and Liquid. Metal must be in either the Workable or Weldable range to be worked, but can only be welded in the Weldable range.

• Working temperature is found by doing Melting Temp * 0.6
• Welding temperature is found by doing Melting Temp * 0.8

In the table below, the temperature shown in each cell is the maximum temperature within the range. For example, bismuth is unworkable up to 162°, workable from 162° up to 216°, weldable from 216° up to 270°, and liquid from 270° up to 3000°.

Item	Warming					Hot					Very Hot					Faint Red					Dark Red					Bright Red					Orange					Yellow					Yellow White					White					Brilliant White
	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::	.	.	:	:.	::
Bismuth	162°								216°		270°	3000°
Tin	138°							184°		230°	3000°
Zinc	252°										336°		420°	3000°
Copper	648°																						864°						1080°						3000°
Bismuth Bronze	591°																				648°		985°									3000°
Black Bronze	642°																						856°						1070°						3000°
Brass	558°																		744°							930°					3000°
Bronze	570°																			760°						950°					3000°
Lead	196.8°									262.4°	328°		3000°
Gold	636°																					848°						1060°						3000°
Rose Gold	576°																			768°						960°					3000°
Silver	576.6°																			768.8°						961°					3000°
Sterling Silver	540°																		720°						900°					3000°
Pig Iron	921°																													1228°									1535°													3000°
Platinum	1038°																																	1384°											1730°											3000°
Wrought Iron	921°																													1228°									1535°													3000°
Nickel	871.8°																												1162.4°								1453°											3000°
Steel	924°																													1232°									1540°														3000°
Black Steel	891°																													1188°								1485°												3000°
Blue Steel	924°																													1232°									1540°														3000°
Red Steel	924°																													1232°									1540°														3000°