Minecraft wiki entry for Beginner%27s_guide, associated text: Wood is the most basic resource in Minecraft, and you need to collect some up front. The usual and most plentiful wood source are logs from trees, which are available in most biomes. Logs are one of many items that can be collected without the use of a tool. All you have to do is mine any log of the tree with your hand or any item. Each block drops as an item that you can pick up and put in your inventory by approaching it. You should start by collecting 6-8 logs for your first tools. There are many different types of trees in Minecraft, each having its own individual name and look. Each kind of log can easily be crafted into a matching type of planks. All logs and planks work for any recipe requiring logs or planks respectively, but a few recipes require that all the wood you use be the same type (for example, when making a boat, you can't mix oak and spruce planks). If you mine all the wood from a tree, the leaf blocks atop it start decaying (you can also break them yourself), dropping sticks, saplings, and perhaps apples. For your first day, don't wait around for leaves to decay, but as usual, pick up any items they do drop and save them for later. Once you get to making axes, harvesting wood becomes much faster!