For a crafting station to register as "used", all you need to do is open up the crafting menu next to the station. You technically don't have to craft anything for it to count.

Work Bench The first thing you'll make. Crafted by hand. Requires 10 Wood.
Furnace For smelting most ores. Crafted from a Work Bench. Requires 20 Stone Blocks, 4 Wood, and 3 Torches.
Iron Anvil For making tools, weapons, and armor. Crafted from a Work Bench. Requires 5 Iron Bars.
Table & Chair For making Depth Meters and Watches. Crafted by placing a Wooden Chair and Table next to each other.
Work Bench & Chair For making Goggles. Crafted by placing a Wooden Chair and Work Bench next to each other. You can still use the Work Bench to craft other things.
Alchemy Station For brewing potions. Crafted by placing a Bottle, Vase, or Mug on a Wooden Table, Work Bench, or Wood Platform. You can still use the Work Bench and Wooden Table to craft other things.
Sawmill Used mostly for wood furniture. Crafted from a Work Bench. Requires 10 Wood, 2 Iron Bars, and 1 Iron Chain.
Loom Used to make Silk and vanity items. Crafted from a Sawmill. Requires 12 Wood.
Keg Used for brewing Ale. Crafted from a Sawmill. Requires 14 Wood.
Cooking Pot Used to make Bowls of Soup. Crafted from an Iron Anvil. Requires 10 Iron Bars and 2 Wood.
Bookcase Used to make the Crystal Storm and Cursed Flames. Crafted from a Sawmill. Requires 20 Wood and 10 Books.
Tinkerer's Workshop Used to combine accessories. Sold by the Goblin Tinkerer for 10 gold.
Demon Altar For making boss-summon items. Can't pick them up. Found scattered below the surface, with a high concentration of them in the Corruption.
Hellforge An upgrade to the Furnace that can smelt Hellstone. Found in the Underworld, usually in the obsidian brick structures. If you made a world before the May 1st, 2013 patch, Hellforges will be located in the lower portion of the cavern layer, just above the Underworld. Requires a 60% power hammer to pick up, or you can remove the blocks below it to dislodge it.
Mythril Anvil An upgrade to the Iron Anvil for making Hardmode armor and tools. Crafted from an Iron Anvil. Requires 10 Mythril Bars.
Adamantite Forge An upgrade to the Hellforge for smelting Adamantite Ore. Crafted from a Mythril Anvil. Requires 30 Adamantite Ore and 1 Hellforge.
Water For making Bottled Water. Any body of water will do, just go into the crafting menu as you would normally do for other crafting stations.
By Hand Considered anything that is crafted without the aid of a crafting station.