[Solved] Supporting a block of ore

[Poker 1]

Which items/blocks beneath an ore block are sufficient to prevent it turning to cobblestone when raw stone is being mined nearby? (glass, lumber, metal sheet etc.)

 

Edited 30 May 2015 by Poker

[Demonic 8]

Only stone blocks can turn into cobblestone and cause cave in. and only mining stone block can trigger it. However, if you want to prevent cave in, you have to craft and build support beams.

[Bunsan 323]

As far as I'm aware an ore and raw stone blocks will turn to cobblestone and fall when there is an air/non-solid block below them. So as long as they have something below them or are supported by a support beam they will not cave in. Lumber and metal sheets definitely do not work, glass, I'm unsure. May I ask why? if you can see an ore block then why not just mine it. Ore blocks can be safely mined at anytime and will never cause a cave in.

[Scintille 4]

http://terrafirmacraft.com/f/topic/8187-7917-getting-too-punishing/?p=106742

[Kittychanley 1,002]

Only stone blocks can turn into cobblestone and cause cave in. and only mining stone block can trigger it. However, if you want to prevent cave in, you have to craft and build support beams.

 

This is not true as of 79.16. While you have to mine raw stone to trigger the cave in, the cave in can spread to ore blocks and turn them into cobblestone, which destroys the ore inside.

[Poker 1]

I don't wish to mine the ore, it's a display - I've exposed the entire vein except for a block of smooth stone beneath each block of ore, which I would like to replace with something less conspicuous.

 

Glass would be good if there's nothing better?

[Kittychanley 1,002]

If you've completely exposed the entire vein there's no reason you would need to support it. The only time you have to worry about the ore turning to cobble is if you mine a raw stone block that's really close by.

[Poker 1]

There is raw stone nearby (approx 3 blocks away to the side and also below), which may be removed at some point either deliberately or inadvertently. Clearly I wouldn't want to risk this causing a cave-in as the ore, once destroyed, could never be replaced.

Edited 29 May 2015 by Poker

[Kittychanley 1,002]

As long as the block underneath the ore is not fire, tall grass, a torch, a smoke rack, a tool rack, is an opaque cube, renders as a normal block, and has a solid top side, it will support the ore above it.

 

That's pretty much any block that takes up the full 1m^3 space, except for glass, which will not offer support.

[Hector49er 31]

Why not disable cave-ins in the config until you are sure that the ore display can not collapse? That would prevent anything bad from happening.

[Poker 1]

Public server so can't change the config.

 

Looks like I have the best solution already (smooth stone block), albeit not as aesthetically pleasing as I'd hoped.

[ChunkHunter 73]

If you can smooth the block then you should be able to change it into a chiselled block by either shaving off the bottom , or simply turning it into a detail block by chiselling it in the right mode

That way you don't lose any aesthetics - but you *do*  lose any rocks that might have fallen when you "mined" the original raw stone block.

Edited 30 May 2015 by ChunkHunter

[Poker 1]

ChunkHunter that seems to contradict Kitty's advice as it would no longer be an opaque cube? 

[ChunkHunter 73]

True.  chiselled blocks are not opaque, I had forgotton - oh well nice idea while it lasted.