
3x3 Pickaxe
Adds a steel 3x3 mining pickaxe with an optional Techguns Blast Furnace repair recipe.
Screenshots

About this Mod
3x3 Pickaxe (Minecraft 1.12.2)
A small utility mod that adds a steel 3x3 mining pickaxe with a simple progression-friendly design and optional integration with Techguns.
Features
- 3x3 mining
- Breaks a 3x3 area when mining (AoE).
- Costs only 1 durability per use, even though multiple blocks are mined.
- Diamond-tier behavior
- Uses diamond-level tool stats (fast and effective for normal mining).
- Broken tool state (no disappearing)
- When the pickaxe reaches the last durability, it does not vanish.
- Instead it becomes Broken and is completely unusable until repaired.
- Advancement
- Grants the advancement “Steel Miner” when you obtain/craft the pickaxe.
- Optional Techguns repair recipe
- If Techguns is installed, the pickaxe can be repaired in the Techguns Blast Furnace:
- 3 Iron Ingots + Broken 3x3 Pickaxe → Fully repaired pickaxe
- The integration is optional and won’t crash your game if Techguns is not present.
- If Techguns is installed, the pickaxe can be repaired in the Techguns Blast Furnace:
How to use
- Craft the pickaxe (steel-based recipe).
- Mine normally:
- Sneak to mine a single block without the 3x3 AoE.
- Not sneaking mines 3x3.
- If it becomes Broken, repair it using the Techguns Blast Furnace recipe (if Techguns is installed).
Compatibility
- Minecraft: 1.12.2
- Forge: 1.12.2
- Techguns integration: optional (only activates when Techguns is installed)
Notes
This mod is designed to be lightweight and focused on one tool and its repair loop.
If you find any issues with AoE mining, durability behavior, or Techguns repair, please report them with logs and your mod list.
Available Versions
How to Install 3x3 Pickaxe on Your Server
Order Server
Order a Minecraft Java server with at least 3 GB RAM (4 GB recommended).
Set forge Loader
In the panel under "Egg", select the forge loader and matching Minecraft version (1.12.2).
Install Mod
Open the mod browser in the dashboard and search for "3x3 Pickaxe". Click "Install" – done! Alternatively, upload the .jar via SFTP to the /mods folder.
Compatibility
Mod Loaders
Minecraft Versions
1.12.2
Server-side
✓ RequiredRecommended RAM
4 GB(min. 3 GB)Frequently Asked Questions
3x3 Pickaxe server crashes on startup – what to do?
Most common cause: wrong forge version or insufficient RAM. Check the server log (latest.log) for "OutOfMemoryError" or "Mixin" errors. With Mado Hosting: ensure at least 3 GB RAM is allocated and the loader matches the mod version (1.12.2). You can switch loaders with one click in the panel.
Is 3x3 Pickaxe compatible with forge?
3x3 Pickaxe officially supports forge for Minecraft 1.12.2. The Mado dashboard automatically detects incompatible loader combinations.
Server lagging with 3x3 Pickaxe – how to optimize performance?
Recommended RAM: 4 GB (per 8 players). Use /spark profiler to check if 3x3 Pickaxe consumes the most tick time. Common fixes: reduce server view-distance to 8-10, install "performant" or "starlight" as supplementary mods on Forge. With Mado Hosting, your server runs on NVMe SSDs with dedicated CPU cores for minimal latency.
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