About the copper, honestly i do not pay attention to it anymore, every games i start i simply just explore, do my stuffs while keeping an eye open. Usualy i get enough copper bits to make a pickaxe and hammer in the first hour. What help A LOT is to go 3rd person camera (F5) with a FoV of 90-100. If there is one, go to the nearest Rock or sand biome, you are nearly guaranteed to get what you need there, otherwise keep your eyes peeled while you gather other stuffs and do the early game things.
Its actually not that much of a grind if you just don't wait and overfocus on it, add it to you normal early game play.
