Java Edition:Headless Piston (Block)

Headless_Piston_(E)_JE1_BE1.png

This article is a work in progress. 

Please help in the creation of this article by expanding or improving it.

This page needs images. 

Please help in the creation of this page by adding appropriate images to it. Please remove this notice once you've added suitable images to the page. See the style guide for more information.

An extended piston is composed of two blocks: the piston base and the piston head. There are multiple ways to remove the head of the piston while still keeping the base intact and in the extended block state where it doesn't have a head.

Obtaining

Mining the Head

One of the simplest of ways of obtaining a headless piston is by mining their heads, which was possible in 14w25a - 14w28a (1.8 Snapshots).

Pre-powering

The easiest method is done in 14w27a, due to a bug making most redstone components powered by default (also allowing for the creation of permanently powered comparators and buttons) placing a piston next to a power source it'll becomes extended without creating a head.

Bed Placement

From 14w28a (1.8 Snapshots) - 1.8.2-pre3 placing a bed on a replaceable plant (grass, ferns vines and dead bushes) will replace the block at the head of the bed (Bed Placement on Replaceable Plant). this can be done with an extended piston's head destroying it.

0-Tick

In 17w49b (a 1.13 snapshot) 0-ticking a piston pushing a block will make it headless, the easiest of way to create this is by placing a button, lever or pressure plate on the moving block

Explosives

Another way to remove the head from a piston is with a mechanism in which the piston extends at exactly the same time an explosion occurs. When using TNT, this can be done with 10 repeaters set to four ticks. The power of the explosion must also be manipulated, which can be done using other blocks between the explosion and the piston, such as cobblestone walls. Once the piston is headless, powering it will ensure that it stays headless. Once unpowered, it will retract, gaining its head back.

Update Suppression

Main page: Update Suppression

This article needs testing. 

Please help test this information.

This article is a work in progress. 

Please help in the creation of this article by expanding or improving it.

Using update suppressors, certain actions within the game can be suppressed to avoid them from happening, such as block updates. When a block is broken or placed, block updates occur to the neighboring blocks which can cause them to be changed in response to the first block being broken or placed. Suppressing the removal of the pistons head will leave the headless piston, this could then be updated to 22w13oneBlockAtATime then it can be picked up and placed into a llamas and/or donkeys inventory.

Useful Links

• https://discord.com/channels/@me/881477212228968468/881479092921323540
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDyg5vk9eis | 1.7
• https://minecraft.wiki/w/Tutorials/Headless_pistons