Core Crafting Stations and How to Begin Cataclysm: Spellbooks
Cataclysm: Spellbooks is built around several crafting stations, and knowing which station handles which recipe is the first step toward progressing through the mod. Each station serves a distinct purpose, from rune creation to gear upgrades, so you will need to identify them early and gather the materials they demand.
The Crafting Table
The standard Crafting station carries the largest share of the mod's recipes, with 38 in total. This is where most of your early work happens, including rune and orb creation.
Crystallized Coral x8 plus a 
Blank Runestone produces an 
Abyssal Rune.- Abyssal Rune x8 plus an
Empty Upgrade Orb produces an 
Abyssal Upgrade Orb. 
Arcane Essence x4 plus a 
Black Steel Ingot produces an 
Arcane Ingot.
Redstone Dust x4, 
Iron Ingot x4, and Arcane Essence produce 
Arcane Cog x2.
The Crafting station also covers full armor conversions. Combining a piece of Wizard gear with an Abyssal Rune and Arcane Essence yields the matching Abyssal Warlock piece, and the same pattern with a 
Technomancy Rune yields the matching Engineer's piece. Other recipes here include the 
Adapter, the 
Amber Staff, the 
Autoloader Crossbow, the 
Bloom Stone Staff, the 
Burning Manuscript, the 
Coral Staff, the Disc Driver, the 
Engineer's Power Glove, and the Excelsius cooldown and mana upgrades.
The Alchemist Cauldron Brew
The Alchemist Cauldron Brew handles 2 recipes. One converts 
Paper into an unspecified result, and the other turns an 
Eldritch Manuscript into 
Timeless Slurry x750.
Amethyst Bless
Amethyst Bless also has 2 recipes. It transforms a 
Crystallized Manuscript into a 
Blessed Crystallized Manuscript, and a 
Ruined Book into a 
Book o' R'lyeh.
Blasting and Smelting
Blasting has 1 recipe, and Smelting has 1 recipe. Both take a 
Necklace of the desert and produce 
Ancient Amber. If you need Ancient Amber for recipes like the Amber Staff, either station will do the job.
Smithing Transform
The Smithing Transform is the second major station, with 34 recipes. It overlaps with the Crafting station on armor conversions but also handles upgrades that Crafting does not.
- Abyssal Rune plus Wizard gear plus Arcane Essence produces Abyssal Warlock armor.
- Technomancy Rune plus Wizard gear plus Arcane Essence produces Engineer's armor.
Nature Rune plus Plagued gear plus 
Amethyst Crab Shell produces Bloom Stone armor.- A
cursium_upgrade_smithing_template plus Cryomancer gear plus a 
Cursium Ingot produces Cursium Mage armor, and the same template plus a 
Frostbranded Book plus a Cursium Ingot produces the 
Codex of Malice.
The Smithing Transform also builds the Excelsius line. A 
Witherite Ingot plus 
Engineer's Suit or 
Engineer's Hood plus a 
Mana Upgrade Orb produces Excelsius Adversary pieces, while the same combination with a 
Protection Upgrade Orb produces Excelsius Oppressor pieces. Witherite Ingot x2 plus 
Engineer's Boots or 
Engineer's Pants produces Excelsius Propulsion pieces.
Getting Started
Begin at the Crafting station. Produce Arcane Essence and Arcane Ingots first, since nearly every armor conversion and upgrade depends on them. Craft an Abyssal Rune from Crystallized Coral and a Blank Runestone, then combine it with Wizard gear and Arcane Essence to step into Abyssal Warlock armor. From there, move to the Smithing Transform for the more advanced Excelsius, Bloom Stone, and Cursium sets. Keep the Alchemist Cauldron Brew, Amethyst Bless, Blasting, and Smelting stations in mind for the smaller recipe groups they cover.
Covers the mod’s in-game guide topics: Crafting Alchemist Cauldron Brew Amethyst Bless Blasting Smelting Smithing Transform