Graveyard Keeper 2 wooden planks: boards are different
A Wooden Plank is not a Board, and neither is an Oiled Plank. The wood chain from tree to beam, what each piece is for, and how to automate it.
The short answer
Wooden Planks are made from Boards, one Board per Plank, at Woodworking Workbench I or II once you have Woodworking I (10 red points). Boards come from Logs at the Sawhorse or Circular Saw. So the chain is Log → Board → Wooden Plank. Oiled and Reinforced Planks are separate, later items made from Wooden Planks, and they cannot stand in for each other.
VIEW IMAGE ↗Your next steps
- 01
Read the exact item name the recipe or quest asks for.
- 02
Fell trees for Logs, or set up a zombie Lumberjack stand.
- 03
Saw each Log into a Board at the Sawhorse.
- 04
Buy Woodworking I and build Woodworking Workbench I.
- 05
Make Wooden Planks from Boards, one for one.
- 06
Only turn planks into Oiled or Reinforced Planks when a recipe asks for those.
The early plank production chain
- 01
Logs
The raw resource
- 02
Sawhorse
Produce Boards
- 03
Woodworking bench
Woodworking I recipe
- 04
Wooden Planks
The requested output
Field Guide schematic · read alongside the checklist. Not an in-game screen.
The wood chain
Wood in Graveyard Keeper 2 is a ladder, and each step happens at a different station. People get stuck when a recipe asks for one rung and they are holding another. Logs are the raw material. Boards are sawn from them. Planks are made from Boards. Oiled and Reinforced Planks are made from Planks. Beams are a separate branch from the Circular Saw.
| Item | Made from | Station | Technology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Log | Trees, Lumberjack stand | Felling | None |
| Board | 1 Log | Sawhorse or Circular Saw | Wood Basic |
| Short Log | 1 Log | Sawhorse or Circular Saw | Wood Basic |
| Wooden Plank | 1 Board | Woodworking Workbench I or II | Woodworking I |
| Oiled Plank | 4 Wooden Planks + 1 Melted Fat | Woodworking Workbench I or II | Oiled wood |
| Reinforced Plank | 1 Oiled Plank + 2 Bronze Details | Any anvil | Reinforced Plank |
| Wooden Beam | 1 Log | Circular Saw | Circular Saw |
| Oiled Beam | 2 Beams + 1 Melted Fat | Woodworking Workbench II | Circular Saw |
Where planks go
Planks are the most-requested material of the early game, which is why a quest that wants five can feel endless. It helps to know what is coming so you can make a bigger batch once rather than five small ones.
| Use | Wooden Planks |
|---|---|
| Jack in a Boat | 5 |
| Tower blockage (Dungeons and… that’s it, probably) | 3 |
| Dresser with mirror | 4 |
| Zombie Supplier Station | 4 |
| Gardener Stand | 4 |
| Garden Upgrade I | 9 |
| Zombie Miner station | 2 |
Field note: Boards are wanted on their own too: Corpse Pallets take 4 Boards and Wooden Signs take 2. Keep a small stack of both.
Boards versus planks
The most common mix-up: a quest asks for Wooden Planks and you carry Boards, or the other way round. They look similar in the inventory, they come from the same tree, and the names are close. They are not interchangeable. A Board is the sawn log; a Plank is a finished Board from the woodworking bench.
If an early bench recipe will not start, check which one it wants. Collecting more logs does not help a plank request until those logs have been sawn and planed.
Oiled and Reinforced Planks
An Oiled Plank takes four Wooden Planks and one Melted Fat, which you get by melting body Fat at the Distillation Cube. The Resurrection Table needs two Oiled Planks, so this is where most players meet them. A Reinforced Plank adds two Bronze Details to an Oiled Plank at an anvil, and goes into barricades for battles.
So a single Reinforced Plank is four Wooden Planks, a Melted Fat and two Bronze Details. That is a lot of material. Only upgrade planks when a recipe asks for the upgraded version, and never hand in an Oiled Plank where plain ones are wanted.
Buy or make?
The Builder and the Furniture Maker in town both sell Wooden Planks, and the Furniture Maker sells Oiled Planks too. Buying is a fine bridge for a small shortfall, especially before you have Woodworking I. Prices rise as you empty the shelf, though, so for bulk needs your own bench is cheaper.
Going the other way, Herm buys Boards and Planks. Surplus from an over-eager sawing session is never wasted.
The other half of a log: firewood and fuel
Not every log should become a plank. Furnaces, kilns and ovens all burn Fuel, and Fuel comes from wood too. Saw a log into Short Logs, split them into Firewood at the Chopping Spot (the Chopping technology, 8 red), and a Firewood Shed turns 2 Firewood into 20 Fuel. Twenty Sticks also make one Firewood, which is a good use for the sticks that pile up from clearing bushes.
The first Firewood Shed costs 10 Sticks and 2 Bronze Nails, and its blueprint is on the wall to the left of your bed. One shed cannot feed both indoor and outdoor stations, so most players end up with one inside for the kitchen oven and one outside for the furnace and kiln.
A healthy split for the early game is roughly one log in three to fuel. Bronze ingots alone eat 20 Fuel per batch, so a sawing session that ignores firewood usually ends with a cold furnace.
| Step | Input | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Sawhorse | 1 Log | 1 Short Log |
| Chopping Spot | 1 Short Log or 20 Sticks | 1 Firewood |
| Firewood Shed | 2 Firewood | 20 Fuel |
Automating wood
Wood is the first chain most players automate. A zombie with an axe at a Lumberjack stand produces Logs without felling any of your trees, which matters because many trees near the base never grow back once their stump is cleared. Another axe-equipped zombie at the Sawhorse turns Logs into Boards, and a third at the woodworking bench makes Planks.
Add a Zombie Supplier Station so a porter moves logs and boards between them, and planks will simply appear in your chest. Update 1.005 also raised the log yield when sawing, which makes the whole chain a little more generous than at launch.
- Lumberjack stand zombie: axe; produces Logs and Sticks.
- Sawhorse zombie: axe; Logs to Boards.
- Woodworking bench zombie: axe; Boards to Planks.
- Porter: no tool; moves materials within the yard.
Common questions
Are Oiled Planks interchangeable with Wooden Planks?+
No. They are separate items with separate recipes. Hand in exactly what the quest or recipe names.
Why can I not make planks from logs?+
Logs have to be sawn into Boards at the Sawhorse first. Planks are made from Boards.
What technology do I need for planks?+
Woodworking I, 10 red points, for Woodworking Workbench I.
Where can I buy Wooden Planks?+
From the Builder and the Furniture Maker in town.
Do trees grow back?+
Many near your base do not, once the stump is cleared. A zombie Lumberjack stand gives you endless logs instead.
What is a Reinforced Plank for?+
Mostly battle barricades. It is an Oiled Plank plus two Bronze Details, made at an anvil.
Why is my furnace idle even with ore in it?+
It is probably out of Fuel. Fuel comes from Firewood through a Firewood Shed, and the shed has to be on the same side, indoors or outdoors, as the station it feeds.
How long does a plank take to make?+
About 4 time units at the woodworking bench, against 5 or 6 for sawing a Board. With a decent axe on the toolbar, a batch of ten is a short job.
Does Herm buy my spare wood?+
Yes. Herm buys Firewood, Sticks, Boards and Planks, so leftovers from a big batch turn into a little money.
Sources & further reading
Recipes, costs and timings were cross-checked against the references below and the official patch notes. Numbers can shift with updates, so the in-game recipe window always has the final word.
- Community databaseGK2DB: wood items
- Community databaseGK2DB: traders (who sells and buys planks)
- Community guideGK2DB: your first week
- Guidegames.gg: zombie stations and costs
- OfficialOfficial 1.005 patch notes (sawing yield)
