How To: Make Buttons Work Like Levers in Minecraft Using a T Flip-Flop

This past weekend's workshop on replacing normal levers with buttons masquerading as levers went really well. Lots of players showed up and everyone had a great time. Most importantly, everyone learned how to make and use a T flip-flop!

Why bother with a T flip-flop?

T flip-flops are so easy to make that the main question isn't how to build one, but why bother? After all, levers work well enough, right?

Yes and no! Normally, a button would only provide a brief pulse of power, but using the T flip-flop in conjunction with a button makes it act as a lever, which provides a permanent source of power. This is the simplest function of a T flip-flop, but as we learned in the workshop this past Saturday, it's much more useful than that!

T flip-flops also serve the purpose of making it easy for you to use multiple inputs for any device. With a T flip-flop, it's easy to wire buttons to your redstone machines from any location, so that you can have a potentially limitless number of buttons all controlling the same door. You no longer have to worry about whether or not you left a switch on somewhere, because with buttons, it doesn't matter!

So without further ado, let's build one!

Step 1 Drop some sticky pistons

Put down two sticky pistons, facing each other, two blocks apart.

Step 2 Dig a hole between them

Destroy the two blocks between them on the ground.

Step 3 Put a redstone torch in the hole

Put a redstone torch in the hole on whichever square you want the power to come from. Your output will be leading out from this square, whichever one you choose.

Step 4 Put a block between the pistons

It doesn't matter which space you put it in, but the block must be a redstone-conductive block, which means no glass, no bedrock, etc. But it can be any conducting block.

Step 5 Put two more blocks above it

Span the distance between the two pistons with any conductive blocks. In this case, you'll only need two.

Step 6 Put a redstone torch at each end of your spanning blocks

One redstone torch at each end, attached to the block.

Step 7 Run redstone across the top of it

Since there are only two blocks, you only need two bits of redstone. Since I chose netherrack to use, it's hard to see the wire in this picture, but it's there!

Step 8 Add a button and you're done!

Now add a button anywhere on the top blocks, and that's it! You now have a working T flip-flop!

When you press the button, the pistons will move the block below. When the block is over the redstone torch, it will power your redstone. When it isn't, your redstone will turn off.

Tips

• Your button doesn't have to be directly attached to your T flip-flop. Instead, simply run a length of redstone wire from the wire on top of your flip-flop to your button, and it will work perfectly!
• If you want to use it with multiple buttons, just split up the input to multiple directions and voilà!

Don't forget...

Make sure to post anything you make using a T flip-flop to our corkboard! Our weekly Staff Choice Awards have resumed, so the more you show off your work, the more likely you are to win some cool server perks (and recognition, of course)!