Tutorials/Obsidian farming

Obsidian farming is very useful, especially earlier in the game, when massive caverns have not been found yet. Obsidian farming is accomplished by pouring lava in a trench (must be still) and then pour water so that it flows over top, creating obsidian. This is the favored way to obtain obsidian, because mining or finding obsidian is very risky and dangerous. Obsidian is always near lava (since it's needed to create it), so you must either block off the lava or swim against the current of the water. With farming, all you do is place the lava and pour the water yourself, making it less dangerous. The only dangerous part is getting the lava with a bucket. The easiest way to obtain lava is to travel to the Nether; however, if you can't travel there yet (no portal), you must find a way down to a big cavern, where you will hopefully find lava pools.

Cave Exploring
If you go in a cave, there are some tips and notes:
 * 1) Naturally-generated caves are extremely dark, and you will more than likely encounter several mobs. Bring some weapons so that you can defend yourself.
 * 2) Bring a Pickaxe and Shovel so that you will be able to collect the ores you find on the way down to the lava layers. An Axe is optional, but can be useful when you are exploring an Abandoned Mineshaft.
 * 3) Bring plenty of Torches to light up the cave.
 * 4) If you see a light in an area you have not previously explored, it is probably caused by lava.
 * 5) If you see red particles dropping from the bottom of blocks, there is lava above those blocks.

Nether Exploring
If you go to the Nether to get some lava, there are several rules/tips/hints:
 * 1) Read the Tutorial on surviving the Nether.
 * 2) Look for where you can get down the easiest (and get back up afterwards), as you're looking for lava lakes or the lava sea.  Those flows and falls you see around you are mostly coming down from the very top of the Nether.  Good luck trying to reach their sources!
 * 3) Bring plenty of pickaxes, at least a couple of iron ones.
 * 4) Don't mess with Zombie Pigmen, but have a good sword just in case.
 * 5) Bring lots of cobblestone for Ghast shelters, and a good bow to shoot them down.
 * 6) Never dig straight down.  Be very careful around edges....
 * 7) Bring many buckets at a time, because depending on how close your portal is to the "lava ocean", it might take a while to get there.   Also, make sure you have room in your inventory to fill them!
 * 8) Bring some Flint and Steel, in case a Ghast deactivates your portal.

Building & Usage
A good way to start is to find an open area. If you are building one underground, just dig/mine enough area for at least a 1x7 trench. There are 3 types of farms, but feel free to add to this list:

Basic Farm
This is basically just a trench dug into the ground with walls on either side; nothing special. It gets the job done without all the luxuries. It is simply made by digging (at least) a 1x7 trench in the ground and building short walls on either side. You then pour lava in the trench, making sure that each one will become a source block. Each end has a step; this is required for the water to flow onto the lava. Once the trench has been filled with lava source blocks (when the lava is completely still), you can then pour the water onto the "step" and it will flow over the lava, transforming it into obsidian. "Pick up" the water spring with the bucket and begin to mine the obsidian. Note that you need a diamond pickaxe to mine it successfully. For safety, water can be run into the trench before placing the lava down.

Advanced Farm
This type of farm is far more sophisticated than a hole in the ground. It is for permanent buildings or you just want to make it look nice. What you will need to do to build it is start to make a basic farm. Make the walls one block higher and make a roof (this is optional, and so is glass; it's only for aesthetic purposes). Next, make a small structure at one end of the trench. This is helpful for storing buckets and other supplies. At the other end, make a way to get up to pour water. If you added a roof, you will have to be extra careful when pouring the lava because there is only one way out, which is why it is suggested that you block the flow with dirt so that it does not keep you from pouring the other buckets. Pour the bucket of water in and you're good to go.

Water Drop Farm
A Water Drop farm uses a piston above the farm to drop water on the lava. First, pillar jump at least 6 blocks, and make a small cellar connected to the pillar. Add water inside, a piston, and a lever, create two 1x13 trenches, fill the trenches with lava, and add a few blocks connected to the pillar (this will help the water flow into both trenches). Once the piston is retracted, it will let the water pass and hit the lava, creating Obsidian.

Redstone Technique
The redstone technique involves using redstone as a kind of catalyst or final ingredient in making obsidian without using the source lava and water. This usually involves having water to the side and lava above redstone, which when combined creates obsidian. A tutorial of a modified version of a variable size design can be found on this video.

Anleitungen/Obsidian herstellen Tutoriels/Cultiver l'obsidienne