After getting your first tools you will want to get a bucket so you can pick up lava and water to feed your farms and the smeltery. To get the bucket you will need to get Iron Plates. And here is how you do it:
You will need 2 treated sticks:
This requires creosote oil, a by product from transforming coal into coal coke in a coke oven.
Then you can craft the IC2 Hammer:
Then you craft the Iron Plates:
Then finally you can craft your bucket:
SKCraft