Easy Iron Farm for 1.21.5
Iron farms work by spawning iron golems in a village, killing them, and collecting the ingots. In 1.21 the mechanics are unchanged: 3 villagers + beds + workstations, with a hostile mob scare mechanic to trigger spawns.
Materials
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Villagers | 6 (2 breeders + 4 workers) |
| Beds | 6 |
| Workstations (barrels/fletchers) | 4–6 |
| Building blocks | ~200 |
| Water buckets | 4 |
| Glass | 12 |
| Hopper + chest | 1 set |
| Lava bucket | 1 (or cactus kill chamber) |
Build steps
- Build a 16×12 platform at Y = 10 (bedrock-proof) with a 2-block water stream on top.
- Place the villager cells 2 blocks above the stream — 2 villagers per cell, 3 cells.
- Put beds beside each cell and workstations in front. Villagers must reach them to claim profession.
- Above the cells, build the spawn platform where golems appear (Y = 14–16).
- Add the kill chamber: lava blades or cactus, then hoppers into a double chest.
- Watch one golem spawn to confirm, then AFK 12 blocks away.
Why 6 villagers?
Golem spawn rate scales with village population up to ~10. Six villagers in three cells gives a steady ~700 ingots/hour without the complexity of a 20-villager hall. Use our Farm Output Calculator to scale by AFK time.
Troubleshooting
- No golems: villagers aren’t sleeping — give each cell a claimed bed 2 blocks above ground.
- Slow rates: too many cats in the spawn area; cats compete with golems for the mob cap.
- Golems escape: ensure the spawn platform has no holes bigger than 1 block.