How to Get Tools in SteamWorld Build

Updated 30 Oct 2026 Source The seven-step Scrap chain (Miner Quarters → dig → Scrap Vein → Prospector Quarters → Mechanic Quarters → Workshop with a free extractor slot → extractor on the vein → Toolmaker), the note that Tools are inside blocks like rubies and gold but that this is not a viable way to raise your balance, the 15 free Engineers requirement and the resulting need to upgrade Worker Residentials to Engineer Residentials, the Production Speed item bought at the Train Station and applied to the Toolmaker, the Production Chance item's occasional-extra-output effect, the five simultaneous ongoing trades that repeat on every train and can be cancelled or modified at any time, and the free Tools given at Milestone 4 from GameRant's how to farm tools guide and the BlengaOne German-language tools guide; the Toolmaker's 3,000 dollar and 10 board build cost, 9 dollar and 15 Engineer upkeep, and its 1 Scrap to 1 Tool conversion every 15 seconds, plus the advice to run two Toolmakers until the Aristobot phase and to dig Tool-filled dirt nodes as a supplement from TheGamer's Engineer building details; the milestone gate for the Toolmaker at Milestone 6 and 70 Engineers from gametheory.city's population milestones page. Sources agree on the chain and the 15-Engineer requirement. Verified 30 October 2026. By Antewise Editorial

Data status: The facts on this page were checked against the source named above. Game values can still shift with a patch, so re-check anything that looks off.

Tools come from a chain that starts before you have any

Tools are needed for buildings, machines, roads and quarters — everything. So the temptation when you run short is to go dig.

Do not. Tools are inside mine blocks, the same way rubies and gold are, and a Miner can dig them out. But that is explicitly not a viable way to raise your Tool balance. It is a supplement at best.

The real source is a Toolmaker, and getting one running is a seven-step chain:

Build Miner Quarters to unlock Miners.
Dig underground to find resources.
Find a Scrap Vein.
Build Prospector Quarters — someone has to carry the resources.
Build Mechanic Quarters — extractors can only be installed by Mechanics.
Build a Workshop with a free extractor slot.
Place an extractor on the Scrap Vein, and only then build the Toolmaker.

The step people skip is 5. An extractor sitting in your build menu that nobody can install is not a Scrap supply.

The Toolmaker


Build cost	3,000 dollars, 10 boards
Upkeep	9 dollars, 15 Engineers
Conversion	1 Scrap → 1 Tool, every 15 seconds
Unlocks at	Milestone 6 — 70 Engineers

Run two of them, at least until you reach the Aristobot phase. From Milestone 6 onward Tools go into roads, buildings and every underground facility, and one Toolmaker will not keep up.

A Tool shortage is a housing shortage

This is the part that is not obvious from the tooltip.

A Toolmaker needs 15 free Engineers, and Engineers only exist if you have upgraded Worker Residentials into Engineer Residentials. So when production stalls, the cause is almost never Scrap — it is that you do not have 15 spare Engineers.

The order of operations when you are short on Tools:

Check your workforce readout. If Engineers are negative, nothing downstream will work.
Build and satisfy more Engineer housing. This is the actual fix.
Only then look at Scrap supply and the Toolmaker itself.

There is one mercy in the early game: at Milestone 4, when you are first tasked with upgrading a Residential to house Engineers, the game hands you free Tools to get through it. After that, you are on your own.

Two ways to speed it up

1. Items on the Toolmaker. Buy the Production Speed item from the Train Station and apply it to the Toolmaker. There is also a Production Chance item, which makes the Toolmaker produce an extra item from time to time and raises overall production speed. Both are pointless without Scrap in storage first — throughput is not the bottleneck if the input is empty.

2. Trade for them passively. At the Train Station you can set a trade that gives away a resource or money and receives Tools. When the train comes, it delivers the Tools and takes your export.

The trade route is genuinely passive and worth setting up early, with one number to remember: you can have five ongoing trades at once, they repeat every time the train arrives, and you can cancel or modify any of them at any time. If you are sitting on a surplus of anything, that is a permanent Tool income for the rest of the run.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get Tools in SteamWorld Build?

Build a Toolmaker. It converts 1 Scrap into 1 Tool every 15 seconds. Getting it running takes seven steps: Miner Quarters, dig down, find a Scrap Vein, Prospector Quarters, Mechanic Quarters, a Workshop with a free extractor slot, and an extractor on the vein — then the Toolmaker itself.

Why is my Toolmaker not producing?

Almost always a shortage of free Engineers. A Toolmaker needs 15 Engineers to run, which means you have to have upgraded Worker Residentials into Engineer Residentials and have 15 of them spare. If your Engineer count is negative, the refinery slows down or stops.

Can I dig up Tools in the mine?

Yes, but do not rely on it. Some blocks contain Tools exactly like rubies and gold, and a Miner can dig them out — but it is explicitly not a viable way to raise your Tool balance. Use it as a supplement, not a source.

How do I make Tools faster in SteamWorld Build?

Buy the Production Speed item from the Train Station and apply it to the Toolmaker. There is also a Production Chance item that makes it turn out an extra item from time to time. Both need you to have enough Scrap in storage first.

How many Toolmakers should I build?

Two, at least until the Aristobot phase. From Milestone 6 onward Tools are needed for roads, buildings and every underground facility, and the demand does not drop.

How many trades can I run at the Train Station?

Five at once. Each one repeats every time the train comes, and you can cancel or modify any of them at any time. Setting one up to hand over a surplus resource or money in exchange for Tools is a passive Tool income.

More SteamWorld guides

Sources

Figures and item data on this site are read from the game’s own reference wiki before publishing. Where a value could not be confirmed there, the page says so instead of filling the gap.