How to Craft a Simple Water Elevator in Minecraft

Part of the process of getting good at Minecraft is unlearning everything you know about conventional physics in favor of the game’s slightly off-kilter floaty block physics. It may drive Sir Isaac Newton crazy, but it leads to plenty of neat opportunities for unconventional travel and machinery. Here’s how to build yourself a simple water elevator mechanism in Minecraft with a few basic materials.

Wow, physics.

Materials for a Simple Water Elevator in Minecraft

Here are the materials you’ll need to make your water elevator a reality:

• An iron bucket for putting water in
• A block of soul sand
• A block of magma
• A big cache of any kind of solid block (glass, stone, metal, whatever)
• Four wooden signs

How to Craft a Simple Water Elevator in Minecraft

Using your bucket(s), grab a water source block from any large body of water. Lake, pond, ocean, anywhere’s fine, but it specifically needs to be a water source block. You’ll need this later.

Using blocks from your construction cache, create a tall 3 X 3 structure, cutting two blocks out of the front side so you can walk into it. Remove the middle section to create an upside-down U shape. Dig a single block down into the middle section, and place your block of soul sand. In the entrance walkway you cut out, place the two wooden signs on one of the inward-facing sides. These signs will occupy spaces, preventing water from leaking out of the structure, while still allowing you to pass through it. Finally, climb up to the top of the structure and dump your water into the center hole. This will create a pillar of water, and with the soul sand at the bottom, you’ll launch up to the top when you walk through the entrance. Congratulations, you have your up elevator.

To make a down elevator, construct another 3 X 3 structure attached to the first one in the exact same manner. Entranceway in the front, signs to block water, same deal. The difference, though, is in the slot at the bottom, insert the magma cube. When you pour the water in from the top, the magma cube will cause oxygen bubbles to flow through the water, so even if the elevator’s really long, you won’t drown. The magma might cause a bit of a sting to your health when you land on it, but nothing that isn’t easily dealt with using food. You now have a viable up and down water elevator system!