Enchanting, Anvils, and Brewing - The Ultimate Player's Guide to Minecraft - page 222

Note: Think This Is Hard?
If making an enchantment table seems challenging, I must prewarn you
than it's got nothing on creating the brewing stand later in this chapter!
Consider this a warm-up with lava.
Of all the ingredients, you might find obsidian the most difficult to obtain. It lurks in some
village chests, but otherwise youneed to discover it in a natural setting orcreate it yourself
with a steamy combination of water and lava.
Creating and Mining Obsidian
Obsidian is naturally formed when flowing water meets still (not flowing) lava. This is a
key condition because any other variation of water and lava flowing or not, in either order,
just results in cobblestone, and that's not going to put a spell on anything.
Obsidianispracticallyindestructible,makingitagreatconstructionmaterial,butit'salittle
risky to mine given its close proximity to lava and the latter's proclivity for turning your
character into an instant Korean BBQ.
But enchantment tables don't require very much obsidian, and I'll show you a sure-fire
technique for getting there. Just follow these steps:
1. Fill some buckets with water. You might only need one, but take some backups
just in case.
2. Now find a lava pool. If you're lucky, you've spotted these on the surface, but your
surest bet is to head down to the lowest levels of your mine where you've probably
already stumbled on several. Lava is most common below layer 11, counting up
from the unbroken bedrock that exists at layer 0. If you're still looking, head back
down your mine and dig some additional branch lines until you do. It shouldn't
take long.
3. If you find a lava pool with water that has already flowed over some part of it ( Fig-
ure 10.2 shows an example), you can try to block the water source, fencing it off
with cobblestone or any other handy blocks to dry up the flow and then mine the
obsidian exposed underneath. Figure 10.3 shows the result. A further border of
cobblestone dropped into the lava lake along the obsidian border allows you to
mine the obsidian without fear of getting swamped by the molten magma. Don't
forget to use the left Shift key to sneak around the lava so you don't fall in.