Hi, I'm trying to put together a gift for a relative, and I'd like to
ask for your help in selecting the items.

He's a recently-retired metallurgist, and has always wanted to get
into metalworking. In particular, he wants to eventually create metal
art of the type that is sold at craft fairs, etc. (He doesn't want to
restore cars or planes or anything.) Although he knows an awful lot
about the properties of various metals (being a metallurgist), he is a
complete beginner when it comes to metalworking.

So if we spend about $500 on a starter set, what should we get him? I
myself know nothing about this stuff, so I don't know if he should
start with steel, aluminum, or some other metal. I've seen one or two
kits on the web, but if they don't have everything he needs then I
must know what else to get him. Also, does he need a separate welding
setup or is a "torch" the same thing?

If it's not too much trouble, I'd really appreciate your
recommendations on the following items:

* Tools
* Metal supplies
* Videos or books
* Anything else

Rough cost estimates and pointers on where to buy this stuff would
also be great. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.