Choosing the Best Drill Head Material for Speed

Different drill heads change how quickly your mining contraptions break blocks. Selecting the right tier allows you to balance resource cost against mining efficiency.

Speed Differences Across Materials

Each of the six drill head types modifies breaking speed relative to the original drill:

• Wood: Operates 2x slower than standard.
• Stone: Operates 1x slower than standard.
• Iron: Operates at the exact same speed as the original drill.
• Diamond: Operates 1.33x faster than standard.
• Netherite: Operates 1.5x faster than standard.
• Gold: Operates 2x faster than standard, offering the highest raw mining speed of all tiers.

Picking the Right Head for Your Contraption

If maximum block throughput is your goal, gold drill heads provide the fastest clearing rate at double the baseline speed. For a high-speed setup that sits between diamond and gold, netherite heads mine at 1.5x speed, while diamond offers a steady 1.33x boost. If you are setting up an early or low-cost contraption where speed is not critical, wood and stone heads can be used, though they will actively reduce your excavation rate below that of a standard iron head.