In Minecraft, how do you craft a lamp? You can craft two main types of lamps: the simple torch and the more advanced redstone lamp.
Getting light in Minecraft is super important. It helps you see in dark caves and stops nasty monsters from showing up near your base. While torches are the most basic light source, you might want something fancier. This guide will show you how to make both torches and the much cooler redstone lamp, which you can even control with a switch or lever. We’ll cover everything you need, from the basic crafting recipe to more complex setups using glowstone and a daylight sensor.
Making a Simple Torch
The torch is your first and most reliable friend for lighting up your world. It’s easy to make and uses common materials you’ll find early in the game.
What You Need for a Torch
To craft a torch, you only need two things:
- Sticks: You get these by breaking down wood blocks.
- Coal or Charcoal: Coal is a black ore found underground. Charcoal is made by smelting wood in a furnace.
The Torch Crafting Recipe
Here’s how you combine these items in a crafting table:
- Open your crafting table.
- Place Coal or Charcoal in the top slot.
- Place a Stick directly below the coal/charcoal.
This simple recipe will give you four torches. That’s pretty efficient!
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Coal/Charcoal | 1 |
| Stick | 1 |
| Result | 4 |
Using Torches
Once crafted, you can place torches on any solid block to illuminate an area. They provide a good amount of light, preventing mob spawns. You can even place them on the underside of blocks, which is handy for lighting up ceilings or pathways.
Crafting a Redstone Lamp
The redstone lamp is a more advanced light source that adds a touch of modern design to your builds. Unlike torches, redstone lamps can be turned on and off, making them perfect for automatic lighting systems or decorative displays.
What You Need for a Redstone Lamp
To craft a redstone lamp, you’ll need two different materials:
- Glowstone Dust: This is the primary ingredient for the lamp’s light-emitting property.
- Redstone: This is the material that allows you to power the lamp.
How to Get Glowstone Dust
Glowstone is a bright, yellow block found in the Nether dimension.
- Accessing the Nether: You’ll need to build a Nether portal. This requires obsidian blocks (mined with a diamond pickaxe) and a way to ignite it (like flint and steel).
- Finding Glowstone: Once in the Nether, look for large, floating structures made of glowstone blocks. They emit a soft light.
- Breaking Glowstone: Mine the glowstone blocks with any pickaxe. When a glowstone block is mined, it drops glowstone dust. You usually get 2-4 dust per block.
- Crafting Glowstone Dust: If you happen to find a full glowstone block and want to convert it to dust, place the glowstone block in your crafting table. It will yield four pieces of glowstone dust.
How to Get Redstone
Redstone is a common ore found deep underground in the Overworld.
- Mining Redstone: Redstone ore looks like stone with tiny red specks. You’ll need an iron pickaxe or better to mine it.
- Redstone Dust: When you mine redstone ore, it drops redstone dust. You can get one piece of dust per ore block, but Fortune enchantment on your pickaxe can increase this.
The Redstone Lamp Crafting Recipe
Now that you have your materials, let’s make the redstone lamp!
- Open your crafting table.
- Place Glowstone Dust in the center slot of the 3×3 crafting grid.
- Place Redstone Dust in all the surrounding slots (the eight slots around the glowstone dust).
This recipe yields one redstone lamp.
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Glowstone Dust | 1 |
| Redstone Dust | 8 |
| Result | 1 |
Activating and Using Redstone Lamps
A redstone lamp on its own doesn’t emit light. It needs a redstone signal to turn on. Here are some ways to activate it:
1. Using a Lever
A lever is a simple on/off switch.
- Crafting a Lever: You need 1 Stick and 1 Cobblestone. Place the cobblestone above the stick in a crafting table.
- Placement: Place the lever on a wall or the ground near your redstone lamp.
- Connection: Run a line of redstone dust from the lever to the redstone lamp. When you flip the lever on, the redstone signal will power the lamp, causing it to illuminate. Flipping it off will turn it off.
2. Using a Button
Buttons provide a temporary redstone signal.
- Crafting a Button: You can craft stone buttons (from cobblestone) or wooden buttons (from planks).
- Placement: Place the button near your lamp.
- Connection: Connect the button to the lamp with redstone dust. When pressed, the button sends a short pulse of redstone power, turning the lamp on briefly.
3. Using a Redstone Torch
A redstone torch also provides a constant redstone signal.
- Crafting a Redstone Torch: You need 1 Stick and 1 Redstone Dust. Place the redstone dust above the stick in a crafting table.
- Placement: Place the redstone torch on a block.
- Connection: Run redstone dust from the redstone torch to the lamp. The lamp will turn on. If you want to turn it off, you can power the block the redstone torch is attached to, which will cause the torch to deactivate.
4. Using a Pressure Plate
Pressure plates activate when a player or mob steps on them.
- Crafting a Pressure Plate: You can make wooden pressure plates (from planks) or stone pressure plates (from cobblestone).
- Placement: Place the pressure plate in front of your lamp.
- Connection: Connect the pressure plate to the lamp with redstone dust. Walking over the pressure plate will activate the lamp.
5. Using a Daylight Sensor
This is a very convenient way to automate your redstone lamp. A daylight sensor detects the level of sunlight.
- Crafting a Daylight Sensor: You need 3 Glowstone Dust and 3 Quartz. Quartz is found in the Nether (as Nether Quartz Ore).
- Placement: Place the daylight sensor on a surface exposed to the sky.
- Connection: Connect the daylight sensor to your redstone lamp using redstone dust.
- Functionality: By default, daylight sensors output a signal when it’s bright. This means your lamps will turn on during the day and off at night. You can invert this behavior by right-clicking the daylight sensor with a dye item, making the lamps turn on at night. This is perfect for outdoor lighting that activates when it gets dark.
Redstone Lamp Brightness
The redstone lamp emits a bright light, similar to a torch. It effectively stops hostile mobs from spawning in its vicinity.
Combining Materials for Advanced Lighting
You can get creative with how you use redstone lamps and their activation methods.
Integrated Lighting Systems
Imagine hallways that light up as you walk down them! This can be achieved with pressure plates and redstone dust leading to multiple redstone lamps.
Decorative Lighting
Glowstone itself can be used as a light source. You can place glowstone blocks directly into walls or floors. Crafting a redstone lamp allows you to control this light, making your builds more dynamic. You can even surround a redstone lamp with glowstone blocks for a unique aesthetic.
Redstone Lamp Variations
While there’s only one basic redstone lamp crafting recipe, its application can vary wildly. You can place them at different heights, embed them in walls, or even create elaborate patterns with them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Can I make a lamp without a crafting table?
No, you cannot craft a torch or a redstone lamp without a crafting table. The crafting recipes require a 3×3 grid.
Do redstone lamps give off light when unpowered?
No, redstone lamps only illuminate when they receive a redstone signal. They are essentially powered light blocks.
What is the brightest light source in Minecraft?
While torches and redstone lamps provide good light, blocks like glowstone and the Sea Lantern offer slightly more light. However, redstone lamps are unique for their ability to be turned on and off.
How do I stop mobs from spawning in my house?
Place plenty of light sources like torches or redstone lamps in and around your base. Mobs typically spawn in areas with a light level of 0. Ensuring your area has a light level of at least 8 will prevent most hostile mob spawns.
Can I use a lever to control multiple redstone lamps?
Yes, you can. A single lever can send a redstone signal through redstone dust to power multiple redstone lamps simultaneously. The signal strength diminishes over distance, but lamps are generally quite forgiving with signal strength.
This guide should give you a solid foundation for lighting up your Minecraft world, from the basic needs of a torch to the more sophisticated control offered by the redstone lamp, glowstone, and a daylight sensor. Happy crafting and illuminating!