To make charcoal in Minecraft, follow these steps:

1. Gather Materials :
   • Collect some wooden logs. Any type of wood logs will work (oak, birch, jungle, spruce, etc.).
   • Obtain at least 8 cobblestones by mining stone blocks to craft a furnace.
2. Craft a Furnace :
   • Use the crafting table to place 8 cobblestones around the edges, leaving the center empty, to create a furnace.
3. Smelt Logs into Charcoal :
   • Place the furnace on the ground and open its interface.
   • Put the wooden logs you want to turn into charcoal in the top slot (the item to be smelted).
   • Place a fuel source in the bottom slot. This can be any fuel, including wooden logs, planks, sticks, or charcoal itself.
   • Once the smelting process completes, you will receive charcoal.

Charcoal can be used similarly to coal-for crafting torches, as furnace fuel, and more. It is especially useful early in the game when coal is scarce since you can create an infinite supply by smelting wood repeatedly

. Alternatively, you can obtain charcoal by breaking a campfire, which drops charcoal as well

. In summary, the key method is smelting any kind of wooden logs in a furnace using any fuel source, which yields charcoal as the output. This process is straightforward and renewable, making charcoal a sustainable fuel option in Minecraft.