How to Build Machines for Your Minecraft Rooms - For Dummies

Machines can not only help you survive and defend your building in Minecraft but also help lighten up a room. A furnace cooks your food and makes it edible, smelts various minerals into ingots, and can even serve as a light.

To make a furnace, you need 8 pieces of cobblestone. To get cobblestone, just mine stone that can be found underground. Place the cobblestone in the outside boxes of the crafting table, leaving the center box empty. Then take the furnace in exchange for the cobblestone. Wood, wood planks, coal, blocks of coal, charcoal, blaze rods, and lava buckets can power a furnace.

Something a little more difficult is an arrow-shooting dispenser. This awesome machine is great for defending your building.

The way the dispenser works is that redstone gives the dispenser power. Redstone is an ore that can be mined into redstone dust; the dust is what powers the dispenser. The dispenser then shoots out its contents, so when you power it up and place an arrow inside, it becomes an arrow-shooting dispenser.

To build an arrow-shooting dispenser, you need 7 cobblestones, 1 bow, as many arrows as you can make, a redstone torch, and at least 2 units of redstone dust.

To get cobblestone, mine stone and pick up the cobblestone that drops when you’re finished. To create one bow, you need 3 strings and 3 sticks. Place the strings in the right column of the crafting table, filling all the boxes. Then, place 2 of the sticks in the top and bottom boxes of the middle column. Now, place the last stick in the center box of the left column.

To make arrows, you need a flint, a stick, and a feather. Mine gravel to get flint, and kill a chicken to get feathers. Place the flint in the top box of the center column, and the stick in the box below it. Then, place the feather in the bottom box.

You’ll need a redstone torch to activate your dispenser. To make one, you need 1 redstone dust and 1 stick. Place the stick in the lower box of the middle column in the crafting table; place the redstone powder in the box above it.

Now, you need to build the dispenser. To do that, you need 7 cobblestones, the bow, and redstone dust. Here’s what to do with them:

1. Place the bow in the middle box of the crafting table.

2. Place 1 unit of redstone dust in the lower middle box of the crafting table.

3. Place the 7 cobblestones in the remaining boxes.

4. Exchange the redstone powder, the bow, and the cobblestone for the dispenser.

Now your dispenser is ready. You can place it anywhere in the building. If you want to kill zombies and other enemies when the sun goes down, place the dispenser at eye level and outside.

To use the arrow-shooting dispenser, follow these steps:

1. Place the arrows inside the dispenser.

   To do this, just right click the dispenser and place the arrows into one of the boxes of the dispenser. It doesn’t matter which box you use.

2. Place the redstone dust in a line until you reach the spot where you want to stand when you turn on the dispenser.

3. Set a red torch next to the end of the redstone dust trail.

   This step turns on the dispenser so that it shoots arrows. If you want to turn off the dispenser, just destroy the torch.

Another useful machine is a locking iron door. You make it out of 6 iron ingots and open it using a lever or button.

Follow these steps to make a locking iron door:

1. Place the ingots on the crafting table.

   The bars should fill the left and middle columns of the table. An iron door appears.

2. Take the iron door in exchange for the bars.

3. Place the door where you want it, and place at least 2 vertical blocks next to the door.

   You do this so that you can place a lever or button on the block to open the door.

4. Get a piece of wooden plank or a piece of stone to make a button.

5. Place the stone or plank on the middle block of the crafting table.

6. Take the button in exchange for the planks or stone.

7. Place the button on a block next to the door.

   You now have a functioning steel door that you can open with the press of a button!

Another way to open an iron door is with a lever. To create a lever, you need 1 block of cobblestone and a stick. Making a lever is easy — follow these steps:

1. Place the cobblestone in the lower middle box of the crafting table.

2. Place the stick in the center box of the crafting table.

3. Take the lever in exchange for the cobblestone and the stick.

4. Place the lever on the block next to the door.

You can use the lever by right clicking it. The door will stay open until you manually shut it. After you open the door, place a second lever or button on the other side. The first lever opens the door, while the second lever closes it.

You can also use a pressure plate to open an iron door. A pressure plate, like the name implies, is a plate that opens a door when you put pressure on it. To make one, you need 2 stones or woods.

To make a pressure plate, follow these instructions:

1. Place 2 wooden planks or 2 stone in the middle row’s left and middle boxes of the crafting table.

2. Take the pressure plate in exchange for the planks or stones, and place it on the ground in front of the door.

3. Walk on the pressure plate to open the door.