How to Upgrade Tools in My Time at Sandrock

As you progress in My Time at Sandrock, you must upgrade your tools if you want to access rarer resources. Although obtaining new tools is a major progression milestone, it isn’t always clear how to upgrade items like the Pickhammer and Axe.

How to craft the Bronze Pickhammer and Axe in My Time at Sandrock.

The first tier of upgrades is the Bronze tool set, and it’s available very early on. You’ll need a basic Worktable and 5 Bronze Bars, 2 Wooden Sticks, 2 Copper Screws and a Sharpening Stone. Most of these you can buy from Hugo’s store, Hammer Time, next to the Blue Moon Saloon. However, it may cost more Gols than you’ll have to spare early on.

To craft the items, you’ll need access to Bronze. Once you install the crane in ‘Picking up the Slack,’ you can delve into the Eufala Salvage Abandoned Ruins. The ruins will offer an ample supply of Copper and, upon reaching floor 3, Tin ore, too. You’ll need 30 Copper and 20 Tin to craft the Pick and the Axe. Once you’ve obtained enough materials, toss them in the smelter and wait for it to finish.

If you have Wood, the Wooden Sticks are easily craftable at your Workbench. However, the Copper Screws are a bit more tricky. If you don’t buy them from Hugo, you’ll need to research the Grinder by giving Qi the Scientist 3 Data Discs and waiting a day for the recipe.

Following this, you’ll need 6 Bricks from putting Stone in a Smelter, 4 Bronze Bars, and 2 Bearings, which you can get at this point by salvaging and recycling mechanical scrap. Then you’ll just need to use your new machine to turn 4 Copper Bars into Copper Screws.

Finally, and possibly the most challenging part, is the Sharpening Stone. These are only available from Hugo’s shop, and they cost a hefty 500 Gols at standard. While waiting for the price to fluctuate, you’ll likely need to do a few commissions to collect enough for both tools. However, once you’re done, you can enjoy smacking some of the tougher rocks and trees for resources!

Crafting more advanced Tools requires more advanced Materials

While later tiers like Iron and Chromium require more advanced materials, the steps are essentially the same. You’ll need to advance the story to gain access to new Abandoned Ruins and the materials inside, and you’ll need to keep progressing down Qi’s research tree to unlock the workstations to process them.

For Example, the Chromium Pickhammer can be crafted on an Advanced Worktable with Chromium Steel Bars and Petrified Wooden Sticks, as well as two more Sharpening Stones from Hugo. Keep up with research and story missions to upgrade to even better tools in My Time at Sandrock.

Increase quality to improve your tools even more

You may also notice that some items you craft have blue or green borders rather than the usual plain white ones. These indicate the quality of the item and will be familiar to anyone used to RPG loot systems. Higher quality tools get more bonuses added randomly upon being crafted, including higher material yields and more effective hits.

Quality is determined upon crafting based on the quality of materials, so some items could be recrafted until you get one of sufficient quality. However, in My Time at Sandrock, you can also research a machine called the Refiner, which will allow you to upgrade the quality of existing tools (and other objects!) that you craft using gemstones. This lets you reliably make items higher tiers for better sale prices or when fishing for that perfect stat combo on your tools.

My Time at Sandrock is available for PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.