Make iron ingots at the Furnace
To get iron ingots in the documented Mayday demo, progress to the next island's stone-head encounter, gather iron ore with a pickaxe, and process it at a Furnace. The older demo's ingot recipe also needs coal, which the player makes from wood. This is the step that lets you move into Forge construction and metal equipment.
You do not need to build a Forge before making the ingots used to construct it. The Furnace handles that earlier processing stage.
Unlock the metalworking stage
Follow the opening diary tasks until you have the raft and can continue beyond the starting island. In the correct-game narrated demo, the stone heads on the next island warn about the upcoming fight and point the player toward iron-bearing rocks nearby. The Furnace and Forge unlock during this part of the progression.
Finish the conversation and check the available building recipes before searching for a separate iron-smelting station elsewhere. If your menu has not reached this stage, return to the active story objective rather than assuming iron ingots must be found as random loot.
The player transcripts establish this early demo route. They do not establish a complete map of every iron deposit, so the useful starting location is the iron-bearing rocks associated with this encounter, not an invented coordinate or a promise that every similar rock contains iron.
Mine ore and process the recipe supplies
Use this sequence once the stations are unlocked:
- Take a pickaxe to the iron-bearing rocks. A second correct-game narrated demo explicitly describes collecting iron ore with the pickaxe.
- Build the Furnace using its displayed recipe. You need this processing station before the Forge.
- Prepare the fuel shown by the ingot recipe. In the older long demo, iron ingots require coal, and wood is used to make coal.
- Select the iron-ingot recipe at the Furnace and provide its ingredients. Make enough for your next planned item rather than spending every ingot immediately.
The exact ore-to-ingot ratio, fuel quantity, and processing time are not established by these narrated instructions. Read those values from your current recipe panel, especially if you are comparing the updated demo with an older playthrough.
Bricks are another processed material made during the same early progression. Keep their recipe separate from the iron-ingot recipe: seeing both products in a Furnace sequence does not mean they use identical inputs.
Spend the first ingots with the updated Forge cost in mind
If your immediate goal is the Forge, the official Mayday update history provides a useful correction to old walkthroughs. The October 23 update reduced its iron requirement from five ingots to three.
That change affects the Forge's construction cost, not the identity of the station that makes ingots. You still follow the Furnace-first material chain. Check the rest of the Forge recipe in your build instead of combining the new iron number with every ingredient quoted in an older video.
Metal equipment also helps with the demo's upcoming story fight. In player experience, the route goes from smelting to building the Forge and making stronger equipment before continuing that encounter. If you are short on ingots, decide whether your next objective is a station or a specific tool before spending them.
FAQ
Where do I find the first iron ore?
In the documented demo route, the stone heads on the next island direct you toward nearby iron-rich rocks. Mine the ore with a pickaxe.
Which station makes iron ingots?
The Furnace. The Forge comes later in the demonstrated crafting sequence.
Do iron ingots need coal?
The older long demo explicitly uses coal for its ingot recipe and makes coal from wood. Follow the quantities and ingredients displayed in your current Furnace recipe.
How many ingots should I save for the Forge?
The October 23 official update sets its iron requirement at three ingots. You still need the other ingredients shown by the Forge's current recipe.