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[Puzzlemaker]

I recently found a quick way to dig big holes (At the loss of a legendary miner, a dog, and a donkey).

Dig (not channel) all the floors where you want the hole to be.  Go to the top hole, and channel out a "cutout" of what you want the hole  to be.

- = channeled

code:

--------
-      -
--------

Make sure to leave one floor unchanneled, so you don't have a cave in!  Now go make sure no dwarves go onto the floors beneath it, then dig the last channel out.  Make sure your miner is not standing in the cutout!

There will be a cavein, and the rock will crash through the floors beneath.  Instant hole!  You don't have to worry about channeling any other floor but the top one!  No more  stuck miners!  It surprised me too when it crashed through the floor (It also surprised my LEGENDARY MINER.     ).

[Bullion]

there's a much safer way by digging Upwards ramps on the level below and then removing them, no danger to life, no fuss, no tantrums.

[Untelligent]

Last time I had a cave-in, my Legendary miner was left with a pair of broken legs and died of thirst because everyone who tried to bring him water got hungry/thirsty/tired/frightened by hoary marmot halfway to the river.

[Tacroy]

Unfortunately, falling things tend to pull dwarfs in with them (as I discovered when trying to build walls around a bridge), which causes injuries or even death.

The completely safe way to do it is thusly:

code:

# = wall
_ = channel
. = floor
X = up/down stairway
< = up stairway
I = support (b-S)

At the top level, dig out something like this:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
X____________________X
X_.................._X
X_.................._X
X_.......X.........._X
X_.................._X
X____________________X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Then for every level you want a hole, do the following in this order:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
X....................X
X....................X
X....................X
X........X...........X <- Completely mine out the level 
X....................X    except for the up/down stairs
X....................X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Then: 
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
X____________________X
X_.................._X
X_.................._X
X_.......X.........._X <- Now we add the channels. Note that your miners can 
X_.................._X    always get to the channels, and out of the area.
X____________________X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
On the bottom-most level:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
X....................X
X....................X
X....................X
X........<.I.........X
X....................X
X....................X
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Then connect a lever to that support. When everything is mined out, 
remove the lone up stair and throw the lever. Forbidding the area is optional.

This works because stairs provide support. Note that if you really want a hole, you need to mine out all of the raw rock; loose stones are fine, but unmined rough walls will fall and restabilize themselves like Lego, leaving you with really weird things like an entire column of rock ten z-levels high supported by one single rough pillar.

[Puzzlemaker]

Ah, thank you!  You see, it was entirely accidental when I discovered this method, so... yeah.