Think you pretty much have to just make things. There is no work around per se. But you do get a bonus everytime you make something new or use an upgrade you haven't used before. So start with a sword and make one using as many different upgrade items you can think of (can do a search for the list of vaild items). Then move on to do the same with pickax. Then armor pieces, then rods and and and... Gather up all the vaild resources and components, get a drink, and saw through them. Should get there quickly enough, just need to pour a little time into it.
