Editing 40d:Melt item

{{av}}
You can '''melt''' items at a {{l|smelter}}, using the {{l|furnace operator}} labor, to recover some of the {{l|metal}} they were made of.  {{l|Decoration}}s in a different metal are not recovered or considered; the metal recovered is the specific metal that basic item was listed as being made from. The % return is predictable and consistent for each item type, and ranges from 10%-60%, depending on the item.  Higher skill levels in furnace operator speed up the process, but have no effect on the % return.

Recovered metal is measured in 1/10th's, and 1/10ths of bars of each metal are saved at the smelter where the item was melted.  Fractional bars are not "shared" between smelters, nor do they exist as usable objects as is.  When 10/10ths of a type of metal are accumulated at the same smelter, 1 bar of that metal is produced.  If the smelter is torn down or destroyed, all fractions are lost.

:''Example:'' If two items of the same metal worth .4 bars each are melted at the same smelter, that smelter has .8 bars worth waiting in it. 
:If a similar item of a ''different'' metal is then melted there, that smelter would have .8 bars of the first metal and .4 bars of the second. 
:If a similar item of the first metal is then melted at a ''different'' smelter, that smelter will have .4 of that metal, and have no connection to the fractions in the first smelter.  
:If (finally!), a 3rd, similar item of the first metal is melted at the first smelter, adding another 4/10ths, and giving a total of 12/10ths of that type of metal, 1 bar of that metal is produced, and 2/10th's are waiting (plus the 4/10 of the second metal, also waiting).

So, it's recommended that you designate one smelter as your "melting" smelter (or one/metal type), to guarantee that fractions will add up effectively.

==Designating items to melt==
You can designate metal items for melting from any interface that allows you to view the object's description screen, such as from the {{l|Stocks}} page or the Loo{{k|k}} interface. 

To bring up a individual object description screen when the object is:
:* On the '''ground''':  Type {{k|k}}, scroll to the object, select it from the list, and type {{k|Enter}}.
:* In a '''workshop''':  Type {{k|t}}, highlight the workshop, select the object from the list, and type {{k|Enter}}.
:* '''Held''' by a dwarf:  Type {{k|v}}, highlight the dwarf, type {{k|i}} to show his inventory, select the object from the list, and type {{k|Enter}}.
:* Inside another object:  Display the container's object description screen, navigate to the specific object you wish to see, and type {{k|Enter}}.
:* In the '''stocks''' menu:  Type {{k|z}}, hit right-direction a few times to select "stocks" and press return.  Scroll to the type of object you wish to melt, type {{k|Tab}} to show individual items (You have to have an exact number or this won't work.  See {{l|Bookkeeper}} for how to get this.), scroll to the specific object, and type {{k|v}} to view.

To designate the item, simply type {{k|m}} to mark the object for melting.  If the item is designated for melting and {{l|forbidden}} then the item will '''not''' be melted.

However, this only marks which items you want to be melted - you still have to place the job-order in a smelter...

==Melting the items==
Items designated to be melted will be left alone until you queue a "Melt a metal object" job at a {{l|Smelter}}.  Melting down an object requires the {{l|Furnace Operator}} labor (and consumes a unit of {{l|fuel}} for a non-magma smelter).

The job gives the same experience to the {{l|furnace operator}} skill regardless of % yield of the item melted.

==Yield==
For every unit of {{l|material size}} an item has, 1/10th of a bar of that item's metal type will be recovered. These fractional bars are "stored" at the specific smelter where the item was melted; when a full bar's worth of one type of metal has been melted, one bar will be produced. Therefore, you should do all your melting at one smelter, at least for each different type of metal or {{l|alloy}} melted.

Melting objects nets you fewer bars of metal than were required to make them, although for some objects this loss is much greater than for others.  Some items are available cheap from traders, or are otherwise refuse, so melting is a distinct option.  An entire suit of chain armor, including shield, consumes 7 bars to make - melted (and with ''high'' boots) it yields only 2.1.

====Melting armor & weapons====

Fortresses will often accumulate armor and/or weapons that they don't need, either from {{l|invader}}s, from {{l|caravan}}s ''(with or without {{l|trade|trading}} for them, ahem)'', or from unsuccessful, low-skilled early efforts at forging your own.

Rather than let these gather dust or {{l|trade}} them away, some players choose to recycle them back into iron or steel (or bronze or copper, etc) bars.

::{|cellpadding="2" border="1"
! Armor <br />Item <br /> melted!! Percent <br />Return !! Absolute<br /> Return<br /> (in bars)
|-
|  {{l|cap}} || 10% || .1
|-
| {{l|helm}} || 20% || .2
|-
| chain armor || 30% || .6*
|-
| plate armor || 30% || .9*
|-
| {{l|gauntlets|gauntlet}} || 20% || .2
|-
| {{l|leggings}} || 50% || .5
|-
| {{l|greaves}}  || 30% || .6*
|-
| high {{l|boot}}  || 20% || .2
|-
| low {{l|boot}}  || 10% || .1
|-
| {{l|shield}}  || 40% || .4
|-
| {{l|buckler}}  || 20% || .2
|-
|}
:''(* Note that these items take more than 1 bar to make initially.)''
::{|cellpadding="2" border="1"
! Weapon<br />melted!! Return<br />(in bars)
|-
| large dagger, whip  || .1
|-
|  blowgun, scourge || .2
|-
|  bow, crossbow,  mace, scimitar,<br /> short sword, spear, war hammer  || .3
|-
|  battle axe, flail, longsword,<br /> pick, pike || .4
|-
|  great axe, halberd, <br />two-handed sword || .5
|-
|  stack of # arrows, bolts || # /100, rounded up*
|-
|}
:''(* Round up to nearest 1/10th. A stack of 1-10 bolts or arrows produces .1 bars, 11-20 produces .2, 21-30 = .3, and 31+ = .4.  A weaponsmith can produce a stack of 25 metal bolts, which produces 0.3 bars.  You could "create" metal this way, if you could reliably collect individual metal bolts after they were shot (and unbroken).)'' 

Due to the low return, many players opt to install weapons into {{l|weapon trap}}s instead, especially if the weapon is of any {{l|quality}}.''

==== Training metalsmith skills / Maximizing return  ====
It can consume many, many bars of metal to train the various [[metalsmith]]ing [[skill]]s up to high levels*.  If you are short on metal, producing items, melting them and re-producing them may be necessary.  If you want to retain as much metal as possible from this process, some items are better to produce and re-melt than others.  The skill to be trained in the chart below is trained at a forge; melting items at a smelter only raises the [[Furnace Operator]] skill.  When using a produce/melt loop to train up a skill for a minimum metal loss, the following items work best:

:''(* Upwards of 1,000 bars to train from unskilled to Legendary+5, the highest skill level.)


:::{|cellpadding="2" border="1" 
! Skill<br /> to be <br />Trained!!  Best <br />Percent <br /> Return !! Recommended <br />Item(s) <br />Melted
|-

| {{l|weaponsmith}}ing || 50%<sup>1</sup> || {{l|enormous corkscrew}}s,<br />{{l|giant axe blade}}s,<br />{{l|menacing spike}}s
|-

| {{l|armorsmith}}ing || 50% ||{{l|leggings}}
|-

| {{l|metal craft}}ing || 60% <br />(2/10 each)<sup>2</sup> || {{l|goblet}}
|-

| {{l|metal craft}}ing || 50% || {{l|chain}} 
|-

| {{l|blacksmith}}ing || 50% || {{l|bucket}}
|-
|}

:Notes:
::1) Some {{l|other weapon}}s have a better return/weapon, but cannot be manufactured by dwarves, negating their value for training purposes.
::2) Goblets are produced in threes, and have an individual item size of 2; 2/10 x 3 = 60% recovery/bar. 


===Buying items to melt===
{{l|Merchant}}s will often offer metal items, metals that you might want but can't find or produce.  This chart shows the {{l|Value#Items_with_both_material_and_quality|base value}} of a given item, without {{l|Value#Material_multipliers|material multiplier}}, and then a "cost" relative to its yield, so you know what the "best buys" are if you want (or are forced) to go down this road.

For instance, a {{l|cap}} has a base value of 10*, and produces .1 bars when melted. That means you would need to buy 10 caps to make 1 bar, and so a cap that has a "relative cost" of 100, since it costs 100* (10 caps at value 10*) to produce 1 bar.  ''(And it turns out, that's a pretty poor return on investment!)''

:<nowiki>*</nowiki> ''The Base Value is then multiplied by the Material Multiplier (how valuable the material is), but the ''relative'' cost/yield of each item remains constant. ''

:''In practice, these values are then all multiplied by the material, but all are multiplied equally for any one metal.  For example, a helmet has a Base Value of 15, before material multipliers, and greaves 30, twice that of a helmet.  So a {{l|copper}} (MM x2) helmet would have a base value of 30 and copper greaves would have 60, while a {{l|steel}} (MM x30) helmet would have a base value of 450 and steel greaves 900 - so both would have the same ''relative'' value compared to any other item of the same metal - more than a low boot, and less than a weapon.''

Note also that {{l|quality}} and {{l|decorate}}d items can greatly increase the relative cost.

::{|cellpadding="2" border="1"
! Item <br /> Bought !! Base <br />Value !! Absolute <br /> Return !! Relative <br /> Cost/Bar<sup>1</sup>
|-
|  {{l|cap}} || 10 || .1 || 100
|-
| {{l|helm}} || 15 || .2 || 37.5
|-
| chain armor || 60 || .6 || 100
|-
| plate armor || 100 || .9 || 111
|-
| {{l|gauntlets|gauntlet}} || 15 || .2 || 75
|-
| {{l|leggings}} || 15 || .5 || 30
|-
| {{l|greaves}}  || 30 || .6 || 50
|-
| high {{l|boot}}  || 15 || .2 || 75
|-
| low {{l|boot}}  || 15 || .1 || 150
|-
| {{l|shield}}  || 15 || .4 || 37.5
|-
| {{l|buckler}}  || 10 || .2 || 50
|-
|  bow, crossbow,  mace,<br /> scimitar, short sword,<br /> spear, war hammer || 10 || .3 || 33.3
|-
|  battle axe, flail, <br />longsword, pick, pike || 10 || .4 || 25
|-
|  great axe, halberd, <br />two-handed sword <br /> {{l|trap weapon}}s || 10 || .5 || 20
|-
|  stack of 25 bolts, arrows || 25 || .3 || 83.3
|-
| {{l|cage}}<sup>2</sup> || 10 || 1.0 || 10
|-
| {{l|anvil}}<sup>3</sup>  || 100 || 1.0 || 100
|- 
| {{l|craft}}s ||  ||  || (poor, tbd)
|- 
|}

::Notes:
:::1) You're ''buying'', so you want a ''low'' cost/bar.
:::2) Cages are offered in only {{l|copper}}, {{l|lead}}, {{l|nickel}}, {{l|tin}}, or {{l|zinc}}.  All {{l|furniture}} returns 1 bar for each item melted, but only cages are offered for trade.
:::3) Anvils are offered in only {{l|iron}} or {{l|steel}}.

Your top "best buys" for melting objects down for the metal are '''cages''', '''weapons''', and '''leggings''', in roughly that order, followed by '''helms''' and '''shields''', and then on up from there. Stay away from chain and plate armours, and anvils, unless you have trade items to burn. What is "too expensive" is up to you and how badly you need that metal, and how much how fast.

== Bugs ==
For reasons unknown, attempting to melt a metal {{l|Chest}} will fail. When attempting to do so, it will be carried to a smelter and the "Melt a metal object" task will be completed (granting Furnace Operating experience, and consuming {{l|fuel}} if not magma-powered), but the chest will not actually be melted - it will remain in the smelter's inventory to be returned to a stockpile, and no metal bars will be produced.{{version|0.28.181.40d}}

[[Category:Jobs]]
[[Category:Items]]
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{quality|Exceptional|15:15, 18 April 2011 (UTC)}}{{av}}
+{{av}}
-You can '''melt''' items at a [[smelter]], using the [[furnace operator]] labor, to recover some of the [[metal]] they were made of.  [[Decoration]]s in a different metal are not recovered or considered; the metal recovered is the specific metal that basic item was listed as being made from. The % return is predictable and consistent for each item type, and ranges from 10%-100%, depending on the item.  Higher skill levels in furnace operator speed up the process, but have no effect on the % return.
+You can '''melt''' items at a {{l|smelter}}, using the {{l|furnace operator}} labor, to recover some of the {{l|metal}} they were made of.  {{l|Decoration}}s in a different metal are not recovered or considered; the metal recovered is the specific metal that basic item was listed as being made from. The % return is predictable and consistent for each item type, and ranges from 10%-60%, depending on the item.  Higher skill levels in furnace operator speed up the process, but have no effect on the % return.
 Recovered metal is measured in 1/10th's, and 1/10ths of bars of each metal are saved at the smelter where the item was melted.  Fractional bars are not "shared" between smelters, nor do they exist as usable objects as is.  When 10/10ths of a type of metal are accumulated at the same smelter, 1 bar of that metal is produced.  If the smelter is torn down or destroyed, all fractions are lost.
@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 ==Designating items to melt==
-You can designate metal items for melting from any interface that allows you to view the object's description screen, such as from the [[Stocks]] page or the Loo{{k|k}} interface.
+You can designate metal items for melting from any interface that allows you to view the object's description screen, such as from the {{l|Stocks}} page or the Loo{{k|k}} interface.
-To bring up an individual object description screen when the object is:
+To bring up a individual object description screen when the object is:
 :* On the '''ground''':  Type {{k|k}}, scroll to the object, select it from the list, and type {{k|Enter}}.
 :* In a '''workshop''':  Type {{k|t}}, highlight the workshop, select the object from the list, and type {{k|Enter}}.
 :* '''Held''' by a dwarf:  Type {{k|v}}, highlight the dwarf, type {{k|i}} to show his inventory, select the object from the list, and type {{k|Enter}}.
 :* Inside another object:  Display the container's object description screen, navigate to the specific object you wish to see, and type {{k|Enter}}.
-:* In the '''stocks''' menu:  Type {{k|z}}, hit right-direction a few times to select "stocks" and press return.  Scroll to the type of object you wish to melt, type {{k|Tab}} to show individual items (You have to have an exact number or this won't work.  See [[Bookkeeper]] for how to get this.), scroll to the specific object, and type {{k|v}} to view.
+:* In the '''stocks''' menu:  Type {{k|z}}, hit right-direction a few times to select "stocks" and press return.  Scroll to the type of object you wish to melt, type {{k|Tab}} to show individual items (You have to have an exact number or this won't work.  See {{l|Bookkeeper}} for how to get this.), scroll to the specific object, and type {{k|v}} to view.
-To designate the item, simply type {{k|m}} to mark the object for melting.  If the item is designated for melting and [[forbidden]] then the item will '''not''' be melted.
+To designate the item, simply type {{k|m}} to mark the object for melting.  If the item is designated for melting and {{l|forbidden}} then the item will '''not''' be melted.
 However, this only marks which items you want to be melted - you still have to place the job-order in a smelter...
 ==Melting the items==
-Items designated to be melted will be left alone until you queue a "Melt a metal object" job at a [[Smelter]].  Melting down an object requires the [[Furnace operator]] labor (and consumes a unit of [[fuel]] for a non-magma smelter).
+Items designated to be melted will be left alone until you queue a "Melt a metal object" job at a {{l|Smelter}}.  Melting down an object requires the {{l|Furnace Operator}} labor (and consumes a unit of {{l|fuel}} for a non-magma smelter).
-The job gives the same experience to the [[furnace operator]] skill regardless of % yield of the item melted.
+The job gives the same experience to the {{l|furnace operator}} skill regardless of % yield of the item melted.
 ==Yield==
-The type of item being melted (and its [[stack]] size) determines how many bars of metal will be recovered. Melting objects generally nets you fewer bars of metal than were required to make them, although for some objects this loss is much greater than for others.  Some metal items are otherwise refuse, so melting is a distinct option.  An entire suit of chain armor, including shield, consumes 7 bars to make - melted it yields only 3.3.
+For every unit of {{l|material size}} an item has, 1/10th of a bar of that item's metal type will be recovered. These fractional bars are "stored" at the specific smelter where the item was melted; when a full bar's worth of one type of metal has been melted, one bar will be produced. Therefore, you should do all your melting at one smelter, at least for each different type of metal or {{l|alloy}} melted.
-Melting yields do '''not''' respect MATERIAL_SIZE for armor items - regardless of how many bars are used to make the item, the yield will be the same.
+Melting objects nets you fewer bars of metal than were required to make them, although for some objects this loss is much greater than for others.  Some items are available cheap from traders, or are otherwise refuse, so melting is a distinct option.  An entire suit of chain armor, including shield, consumes 7 bars to make - melted (and with ''high'' boots) it yields only 2.1.
-Items yielding 1 full bar:
+====Melting armor & weapons====
-* [[Door]] - 33%
-* [[Floodgate]] - 33%
-* [[Chair]] - 33%
-* [[Cage]] - 33%
-* [[Barrel]] - 33%
-* [[Table]] - 33%
-* [[Coffin]] - 33%
-* [[Statue]] - 33%
-* [[Chest]] - 33% (due to a bug, these are not actually meltable{{bug|2493}})
-* [[Bin]] - 33%
-* [[Armor stand]] - 33%
-* [[Weapon rack]] - 33%
-* [[Cabinet]] - 33%
-* [[Anvil]] - 33%
-* [[Bucket]] - '''100%'''
-* [[Pipe section]] - 33%
-* [[Hatch cover]] - 33%
-* [[Grate]] - 33%
-Items yielding 0.8 bars:
+Fortresses will often accumulate armor and/or weapons that they don't need, either from {{l|invader}}s, from {{l|caravan}}s ''(with or without {{l|trade|trading}} for them, ahem)'', or from unsuccessful, low-skilled early efforts at forging your own.
-* [[Armor]] - 27-40%
-Items yielding 0.5 bars:
+Rather than let these gather dust or {{l|trade}} them away, some players choose to recycle them back into iron or steel (or bronze or copper, etc) bars.
-* [[Chain]] - 50%
-* [[Instrument]] - 50%
-* [[Animal trap]] - 50%
-* [[Weapon]] - 50%
-* [[Shield]] - 50%
-* [[Pants]] - 25%
-* [[Ballista arrow]] / [[ballista arrowhead]] - 17%
-* [[Trap component]] - 50%
-Items yielding 0.3 bars:
+::{|cellpadding="2" border="1"
-* [[Shoes]] - 60% (per pair)
+! Armor <br />Item <br /> melted!! Percent <br />Return !! Absolute<br /> Return<br /> (in bars)
-* [[Helm]] - 30%
+|-
-* [[Gloves]] - 60% (per pair)
+|  {{l|cap}} || 10% || .1
+|-
+| {{l|helm}} || 20% || .2
+|-
+| chain armor || 30% || .6*
+|-
+| plate armor || 30% || .9*
+|-
+| {{l|gauntlets|gauntlet}} || 20% || .2
+|-
+| {{l|leggings}} || 50% || .5
+|-
+| {{l|greaves}}  || 30% || .6*
+|-
+| high {{l|boot}}  || 20% || .2
+|-
+| low {{l|boot}}  || 10% || .1
+|-
+| {{l|shield}}  || 40% || .4
+|-
+| {{l|buckler}}  || 20% || .2
+|-
+|}
+:''(* Note that these items take more than 1 bar to make initially.)''
+::{|cellpadding="2" border="1"
+! Weapon<br />melted!! Return<br />(in bars)
+|-
+| large dagger, whip  || .1
+|-
+|  blowgun, scourge || .2
+|-
+|  bow, crossbow,  mace, scimitar,<br /> short sword, spear, war hammer  || .3
+|-
+|  battle axe, flail, longsword,<br /> pick, pike || .4
+|-
+|  great axe, halberd, <br />two-handed sword || .5
+|-
+|  stack of # arrows, bolts || # /100, rounded up*
+|-
+|}
+:''(* Round up to nearest 1/10th. A stack of 1-10 bolts or arrows produces .1 bars, 11-20 produces .2, 21-30 = .3, and 31+ = .4.  A weaponsmith can produce a stack of 25 metal bolts, which produces 0.3 bars.  You could "create" metal this way, if you could reliably collect individual metal bolts after they were shot (and unbroken).)''
-Items yielding 0.2 bars:
+Due to the low return, many players opt to install weapons into {{l|weapon trap}}s instead, especially if the weapon is of any {{l|quality}}.''
-* [[Flask]] - 60% (per set of 3)
-* [[Goblet]] - 60% (per set of 3)
-* [[Toy]] - 20%
-* [[Figurine]] - 20-60%
-* [[Scepter]] - 20-60%
-Items yielding 0.1 bars:
+==== Training metalsmith skills / Maximizing return  ====
-* [[Amulet]] - 10-30%
+It can consume many, many bars of metal to train the various [[metalsmith]]ing [[skill]]s up to high levels*.  If you are short on metal, producing items, melting them and re-producing them may be necessary.  If you want to retain as much metal as possible from this process, some items are better to produce and re-melt than others.  The skill to be trained in the chart below is trained at a forge; melting items at a smelter only raises the [[Furnace Operator]] skill.  When using a produce/melt loop to train up a skill for a minimum metal loss, the following items work best:
-* [[Crown]] - 10-30%
-* [[Ring]] - 10-30%
-* [[Earring]] - 10-30%
-* [[Bracelet]] - 10-30%
-Special:
+:''(* Upwards of 1,000 bars to train from unskilled to Legendary+5, the highest skill level.)
-* [[Ammo]] yields 0.1 bars per 10 units, rounded down, plus 0.1. A stack of 1-9 bolts will yield 0.1 bars, 10-19 will yield 0.2 bars, etc. - a freshly smithed stack of 25 bolts will yield 0.3 bars, for a 30% return.
-* [[Coin]]s yield 0.1 bars per 50 units, rounded down, plus 0.1. A stack of 1-49 coins will yield 0.1 bars, 50-99 will yield 0.2 bars, etc. - a freshly minted stack of 500 coins will yield 1.1 bars, for a '''110%''' return.
-== Training metalsmith skills / Maximizing return  ==
-It can consume many, many bars of metal to train the various [[metalsmithing]] [[skill]]s up to high levels*.  If you are short on metal, producing items, melting them and re-producing them may be necessary.  If you want to retain as much metal as possible from this process, some items are better to produce and re-melt than others.  The skill to be trained in the chart below is trained at a forge; melting items at a smelter only raises the [[furnace operator]] skill.  When using a produce/melt loop to train up a skill for a minimum metal loss, the following items work best:
-:''(* 600 bars to train from Dabbling to Legendary, and 367 more to reach Legendary+5, the highest skill level)
+:::{|cellpadding="2" border="1"
-{|cellpadding="2" border="1"
 ! Skill<br /> to be <br />Trained!!  Best <br />Percent <br /> Return !! Recommended <br />Item(s) <br />Melted
+|-
+| {{l|weaponsmith}}ing || 50%<sup>1</sup> || {{l|enormous corkscrew}}s,<br />{{l|giant axe blade}}s,<br />{{l|menacing spike}}s
 |-
-| [[weaponsmith]] || 50% || [[weapon]]s or [[trap component]]s
+| {{l|armorsmith}}ing || 50% ||{{l|leggings}}
 |-
-| [[armorsmith]] || 60% || [[gauntlet]]s, [[high boot]]s, or [[low boot]]s
+| {{l|metal craft}}ing || 60% <br />(2/10 each)<sup>2</sup> || {{l|goblet}}
 |-
-| [[metalsmith]] || '''100%''' || [[bucket]]
+| {{l|metal craft}}ing || 50% || {{l|chain}}
 |-
-| [[metal crafter]] || '''110%''' || [[coin]]s
+| {{l|blacksmith}}ing || 50% || {{l|bucket}}
+|-
 |}
-{{Category|Jobs}}
+:Notes:
-{{Category|Items}}
+::1) Some {{l|other weapon}}s have a better return/weapon, but cannot be manufactured by dwarves, negating their value for training purposes.
+::2) Goblets are produced in threes, and have an individual item size of 2; 2/10 x 3 = 60% recovery/bar.
+===Buying items to melt===
+{{l|Merchant}}s will often offer metal items, metals that you might want but can't find or produce.  This chart shows the {{l|Value#Items_with_both_material_and_quality|base value}} of a given item, without {{l|Value#Material_multipliers|material multiplier}}, and then a "cost" relative to its yield, so you know what the "best buys" are if you want (or are forced) to go down this road.
+For instance, a {{l|cap}} has a base value of 10*, and produces .1 bars when melted. That means you would need to buy 10 caps to make 1 bar, and so a cap that has a "relative cost" of 100, since it costs 100* (10 caps at value 10*) to produce 1 bar.  ''(And it turns out, that's a pretty poor return on investment!)''
+:<nowiki>*</nowiki> ''The Base Value is then multiplied by the Material Multiplier (how valuable the material is), but the ''relative'' cost/yield of each item remains constant. ''
+:''In practice, these values are then all multiplied by the material, but all are multiplied equally for any one metal.  For example, a helmet has a Base Value of 15, before material multipliers, and greaves 30, twice that of a helmet.  So a {{l|copper}} (MM x2) helmet would have a base value of 30 and copper greaves would have 60, while a {{l|steel}} (MM x30) helmet would have a base value of 450 and steel greaves 900 - so both would have the same ''relative'' value compared to any other item of the same metal - more than a low boot, and less than a weapon.''
+Note also that {{l|quality}} and {{l|decorate}}d items can greatly increase the relative cost.
+::{|cellpadding="2" border="1"
+! Item <br /> Bought !! Base <br />Value !! Absolute <br /> Return !! Relative <br /> Cost/Bar<sup>1</sup>
+|-
+|  {{l|cap}} || 10 || .1 || 100
+|-
+| {{l|helm}} || 15 || .2 || 37.5
+|-
+| chain armor || 60 || .6 || 100
+|-
+| plate armor || 100 || .9 || 111
+|-
+| {{l|gauntlets|gauntlet}} || 15 || .2 || 75
+|-
+| {{l|leggings}} || 15 || .5 || 30
+|-
+| {{l|greaves}}  || 30 || .6 || 50
+|-
+| high {{l|boot}}  || 15 || .2 || 75
+|-
+| low {{l|boot}}  || 15 || .1 || 150
+|-
+| {{l|shield}}  || 15 || .4 || 37.5
+|-
+| {{l|buckler}}  || 10 || .2 || 50
+|-
+|  bow, crossbow,  mace,<br /> scimitar, short sword,<br /> spear, war hammer || 10 || .3 || 33.3
+|-
+|  battle axe, flail, <br />longsword, pick, pike || 10 || .4 || 25
+|-
+|  great axe, halberd, <br />two-handed sword <br /> {{l|trap weapon}}s || 10 || .5 || 20
+|-
+|  stack of 25 bolts, arrows || 25 || .3 || 83.3
+|-
+| {{l|cage}}<sup>2</sup> || 10 || 1.0 || 10
+|-
+| {{l|anvil}}<sup>3</sup>  || 100 || 1.0 || 100
+|-
+| {{l|craft}}s ||  ||  || (poor, tbd)
+|-
+|}
+::Notes:
+:::1) You're ''buying'', so you want a ''low'' cost/bar.
+:::2) Cages are offered in only {{l|copper}}, {{l|lead}}, {{l|nickel}}, {{l|tin}}, or {{l|zinc}}.  All {{l|furniture}} returns 1 bar for each item melted, but only cages are offered for trade.
+:::3) Anvils are offered in only {{l|iron}} or {{l|steel}}.
+Your top "best buys" for melting objects down for the metal are '''cages''', '''weapons''', and '''leggings''', in roughly that order, followed by '''helms''' and '''shields''', and then on up from there. Stay away from chain and plate armours, and anvils, unless you have trade items to burn. What is "too expensive" is up to you and how badly you need that metal, and how much how fast.
+== Bugs ==
+For reasons unknown, attempting to melt a metal {{l|Chest}} will fail. When attempting to do so, it will be carried to a smelter and the "Melt a metal object" task will be completed (granting Furnace Operating experience, and consuming {{l|fuel}} if not magma-powered), but the chest will not actually be melted - it will remain in the smelter's inventory to be returned to a stockpile, and no metal bars will be produced.{{version|0.28.181.40d}}
+[[Category:Jobs]]
+[[Category:Items]]