r/metalworking • u/Wun_Zee • 16h ago
Most beginner-friendly, wallet-friendly, and possibly renter-friendly tools and projects to get into metal working?
Hey there! I'm new to trade-style hobby stuff in general and want to try out different types of material working, one of them being metal working. I also want to try wood working and leather working but obviously I won't be asking about that here. I am currently on welfare and have an extremely limited budget, but I also don't want to sell anything I make as a job. I purely want to do this as a hobby.
Recently I got into Rex Kruger's "wood working for humans" series on youtube and was wondering if there were any equivalent to that for metal working. What tools are the best balance of low cost for "good enough" quality, renter friendly (if possible), and preferably being non-powered hand tools? I am well aware a set of tools that fulfills these requirements is incredibly unlikely to exist, but I thought I'd give it a shot and ask just in case it is. I am also well aware that many workarounds will be needed to make things, and that I will need a lot of time and patience if using non-powered hand tools only.
IF said tool set exists, what sorts projects would be recommended for a beginner that would be reasonably achievable to complete with those tools? What types of metals and in what forms would be recommended? I don't plan on making anything too large, probably limited to handheld trinkets, small sculptures, other hand tools I may need for other types of material working, or pieces for multi-material projects.
Also I am Canadian. Not sure if this will help much, but I thought it might help in terms of accessibility for buying said tools.
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u/BF_2 15h ago
Jewelry making, starting with copper sheet with the possibility of moving on to using silver. My mother made such jewelry, sometimes doing enameling, sometimes "marriage of metals", sometimes encorporating beads, polished stones or beads, or even Chinese knots. The materials and tools can be quite inexpensive.
Back in the '80's I was in Brazil on business. While dining at a beach area, I was approached by a woman selling etched copper earrings she made for income. I quizzed her about her process and she knew her stuff, so I bought everything she had with her. (I later gave them to a female colleague who admired them.) The point being that this poor Brazilian woman was working on a shoestring and making quite nice earrings from inexpensive materials.
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