Definitely check out a local club. They often charge a yearly fee however you will get access to many tools, equipment, knowledge, etc. Fantastic way of getting your hands dirty without having to pay the price for the expensive equipment. This community is quite welcoming and super extra friendly I find. If you're a handy man you can look into building your own equipment, depending on what you are trying to achieve of course. I have no first hand experience in lapidary work however do come across articles/forum questions and glance through. A very good resource is www.mindat.org - not lapidary specific by any means however the greatest resource online for minerals. You can even go as far as hunting your own, local material. Just type in the name of any town and a map will pop up with different localities in that area. You will never look at roadcuts the same way again There is a fantastic spot near Bancroft that you wont need much more than a bucket to collect amazonite, peristerite and others that you can fashion into cabochons and what not. If you have any questions shoot me a message. Keep us posted with stuff you make!