User blog comment:Kasix/Hellevator/@comment-4246239-20111123145303

Mine's not exactly a traditional Hellevator, as while it is a vertical shaft, it has the following features: - I normally start building it very early in the game, so it'll often have doors to various points of interest (such as mining spots, or a Mushroom Farm). Only later does it evolve into my Hellevator (or Hellcase). - It is lined with Wooden Platforms for when I need to climb back up to the surface (especially early in the game, when I don't have a Magic Mirror). - It is lined with walls so that no enemies can enter it. (This is especially helpful in protecting you from Underworld monsters, except for Fire Imps and Bone Serpents.) - Torches are placed along the Hellevator so that I could see where I'm going as I'm building it. - If I encounter a potentially steep drop while building my Hellevator, I'd normally use the same technique that is used to build a caisson; that is, I place some blocks underneath me, then mine them out from the top-down. This ensures that I don't fall to my death. - When digging through water, I normally use the liquid-filling technique to keep water from entering my Hellevator, though when digging through lava, I normally use sand blocks to soak up the lava, and to create an artificial lava barrier. (I frequently replace said sand blocks with other materials so that I may reuse them for later, though I have to be careful not to let the lava in.) - I oftentimes install a drainage system alongside the Hellevator so that my house doesn't get flooded with water or lava. Instead, the water and lava would be sent straight to Hell. (I sometimes use it to flood Hell with water even.) - Since I'm usually looking for new places to mine and plunder as I build my Hellevator, I'll often want to build remote spawn points at various depths, such as once every 500-1000 feet.

Overall, I'd say that it takes me quite a while to build my Hellevator, but it's a safe way to build one, and even has a few nifty features alongside it.