Advanced Crafting Ideas
While looking through different players worlds, I've noticed things like shops, and bakeries, and blacksmiths and other places where crafted items could be made, and thought, "What if there was a more advanced crafting system in place?" The more I thought about it, it makes sense, and wouldn't have to mess up the existing system much. So lets look at the basics of the system, and then show what this could allow to be crafted.
The Workbench
The basic workbench as it is implemented is a powerful tool, but has some limitations in what can be made, at least based on the existing recipes and the shapes used. I've seen some people propose expanding the grid to 4x4 or even 5x5, but I don't think its really necessary. Using specialized crafting workbenches fixes our problem. So first of all, what can still be made by workbench as it exists now? For one, all of the wood and stone tools and weapons, the leather armor, and several other basic recipes that do not make sense being crafted using one of the specialized work areas. In addition, all of the specialized work benches should be crafted here, because it makes some sense to not just allow them to be built using the 2x2 personal crafting area.
The Anvil
Created using 2 iron and 2 wood planks, cobblestone or even smooth stone blocks.
The anvil is used to make all of the iron, gold, and diamond tools, weapons, and armor.
In addition, other metal based items like the iron door and mine carts and tracks are created here.
The compass and watch can still be created using the basic workbench.
The Saw horse or Carpenters Bench
To create the saw horse, you could do a 2x2 stick pattern, and for the carpenters bench, 2 wood planks over 2 sticks.
Only one of these items is necessary, but both are possible ideas.
These items are used to make some of the more advanced wood designs, such as the fences, boats, doors, beds, and maybe chests.
In addition, these items would be able to make new furniture, such as shelves, tables, chairs, and maybe thrones?
Plus, some of the items players have been wanting like fence gates could be created with this using a 2x2 stick pattern.
The Stove
It would require coal still to run, and could be made in a 2x2 pattern using cobblestone or smooth stone.
While we do have a furnace for smelting things, making glass green dye, the stove would be used for baking things, such as bread, cakes, cookies, mushroom stew, the cooked ham and fish, and other new food items.
The Potters Wheel
The potters wheel is created with two clay blocks on top of either 2 wood planks or sticks.
In order to make some of the cave items I've proposed, a potters wheel makes sense to craft these items.
In addition to the the cave items, maybe some other new clay, dirt, gravel, sand, and sandstone creations can be made.
More Recipes!
Because of these specialized crafting areas, more recipes are possible for different areas. In addition, similar patterns can be used multiple times, using different craft areas. For example, notice I said the saw horse could be created using a 2x2 stick pattern and the basic workbench, and the fence gate could be made using a 2x2 stick pattern and the woodworking craft area.