The Dismantle Bench breaks Metal Junk down into Scrap and Plastic Junk into Processed Plastic. Scrap is not mined, so this bench is the main way to get it early. Community guides point to a free bench inside the Church at House Camp, which you can use before building your own. The October 14 patch changed your own bench to need Iron Ingots instead of Iron Ore, so plan a furnace run first.
What the Dismantle Bench does
The bench is a recycling station rather than a crafting bench. You load it with junk, and it turns that junk into usable materials. The official patch notes call it the Disassembly Bench, while the in-game prompt and most guides say Dismantle Bench.
| Input | Output | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| Metal Junk | Scrap (about 2 per piece) | Makeshift Smelter, Stove, Scrap building tier |
| Plastic Junk | Processed Plastic | Farming water tank and fertilizer bin |
A community scrap guide reports about 2 Scrap per piece of Metal Junk and roughly 5 seconds per piece. Community guides also say the bench keeps working after you walk away. Load a full stack, then go cook, repair or sort storage while it runs.
The free Dismantle Bench at House Camp
Community guides place a camp-owned Dismantle Bench inside the Church at House Camp. Walk up to it, and a Dismantle Bench prompt appears. There is no fee to use it.
A House Camp quest from Anna also sends you to the Church to dismantle Metal Junk, then on to crafting tools and building a Stove. If you follow the story, you will meet the bench naturally. Our world map guide shows where House Camp sits on the route from the Woods.
The Church also has a fast travel post nearby, so you can bring junk back from other regions quickly. Unlock it using the fast travel guide. That makes House Camp a strong candidate for your mid-game base, as covered in our best base location guide.
Building your own Dismantle Bench
Community data from preview build 0.44.2 lists the bench at 10 Wood and 10 Iron, with 250 HP and no blueprint points needed. The official October 14 patch notes then changed the recipe to Iron Ingots instead of Iron Ore. Check the build menu in your version for the current amounts.
- Mine iron with the right pickaxe tier from the resources guide.
- Smelt the ore into Iron Ingots at a Stone Furnace.
- Gather 10 Wood, then place the bench under the same roof as your furnace.
- Keep a junk chest next to it so loading the bench takes one trip.
Coal for smelting got cheaper in the same patch. The Stone Furnace now makes 2 Coal from 3 Wood instead of 5, and in 10 seconds instead of 15. That makes the ingot step for the bench much faster than it was at launch.
Where to find Metal Junk
Damaged cars are the main early source of Metal Junk, according to community guides. Wrecked vehicles and broken machinery around roads and settlements are worth searching on every trip. House Camp alone has damaged cars and vans among its loot spots.
- Search damaged cars and vans along roads between settlements.
- Check broken machinery and metal debris in camps and industrial areas.
- Leave inventory space on supply runs, since junk stacks fill bags quickly.
- Keep Plastic Junk too: it becomes Processed Plastic for farming stations.
Plan your route with the resources guide, which explains which areas are richer in Scrap. The official building post names House Camp and the Solar Fields as the first places where Scrap becomes common. Combining a car route with a bench at home is the fastest way to stockpile it.
What to spend Scrap on first
Scrap feeds several important early recipes. Community data lists the costs below, taken from preview game files. Confirm them in your build before committing a large stack.
| Recipe | Scrap cost (community data) | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Makeshift Smelter | 5 Scrap | Makes Quality Metal for better tools and walls |
| Radio Station | 2 Scrap, 1 Wire, 2 Wood | Part of the story and radio quests |
| Barrel Brazier | 2 Scrap | A heat source that does not need Stone |
| Stove | 30 Scrap | A cooking station asked for by the House Camp quest |
Our pick for the first Scrap is the Makeshift Smelter. It opens Quality Metal, which leads to stronger tools and walls. The Professional Smelter guide explains how the smelter tiers fit together after that.
Dismantle Bench problems and fixes
If the build menu rejects the bench, check whether you have Iron Ingots rather than ore after the October 14 patch. If the preview is red, you may be standing in a No Build Zone such as Horizon. Moving a short distance onto open ground usually solves it.
If the House Camp quest step does not advance, make sure you dismantled the Metal Junk at the Church bench itself. The developers keep a pinned Quest Issues and Workarounds post on Steam for stuck quests. Our roadmap and patch notes page tracks which quest fixes have already shipped.
Checked October 17, 2026. The Iron Ingot change and coal change come from the official October 14 patch notes. Outputs, timings, the free Church bench and recipe costs come from community guides and game-file data from preview build 0.44.2, so confirm amounts in your build. Last updated: October 17, 2026.
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References and further reading for this article.
