Most of the game is built in manufacturers, forges, and similar stations. Hand crafting is only for your first Manufacturer. Get 20 Territe, then left click it in your inventory and choose Assemble Manufacturer. You can also open the Manufacturing icon (the factory with a smokestack) before you have one. The Manufacturer goes into your inventory. Drop it on an open tile next to you to place it.
After you have a Manufacturer, the Manufacturing tab is a recipe book. Right click the Manufacturer to actually assemble something, and to see what you still need to gather.
Most jobs take time. The manufacturer animates and a blue bar fills across the tile. When the bar finishes, the animation stops.
Recipes are labeled Easy, Hard, or Too Complex:
Those labels change as your manufacturing skill goes up. Skill goes up when you manufacture, including failures.
On success, the item is stored in the Manufacturer. Right click it and Take the item. On failure, the components are gone.
