I've seen a lot of people set up the wither miner to get ether. They always put the drill base directly over the wither. Until today. I just watched a video in which the setup is so wonky, it makes me wonder: what are the actual requirements? The drill base and the drill are both off to the side of the wither, but very close.
Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yz3G1ZHPlRA
Edit: another video I just found that does similar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87mdb15xMYk
by jursamaj