Most of my hand tools are Snap-on or Mac. I truly believe that tools are an investment so I will wait at times until I can afford to buy a good quality, expensive tool rather than buy one from the local discount house. Coming from the service industry in my younger days I have had and seen many busted knuckles and injuries that came from using cheap junk. That being said, what I use most working with guns are files, punches, hammers and I would guess my most used tool would be a Dremel type tool. I have never found a "Dremel" brand moto tool that would hold up under the use I give them, they are expensive and not worth the investment. I have tried every offering they have and found them wanting in the end. My replacement for the Dremel is the Black & Decker RTX, it is cheap enough that I can buy 2 of them for the price of 1 high end Dremel and I am still using the first one I purchased 6 years ago. Next would be a padded vice like a Wilton 5" model with a set of Bessy magnetic soft jaw inserts.
I use punches a lot and I have Snap-on and Mayhew, the hammers I use for gunsmithing are generally brass headed and are purchased from Brownell's. All the files I have are also purchased from Brownell's and most of the crowning reamers and cutters I have also came from them. So giving you that information you would probably do well with a good set of punches, a starter punch from GCW, one of CZ custom's bench blocks, a ten once brass hammer, a good set of pics, some good quality sand paper-80 thru 2000 grit, a good set of hollow ground screw drivers for flats and a quality set of Phillips head drivers, a Dremel type moto tool, a good quality set of polishing, grinding and cutting bits for this tool, a good set of brass punches with at least one large brass and steel drift to remove stubborn sights, a good quality 5 or 6" vice like a Wilton brand, Drill press, a good hand drill and a very good quality set of drill bits and don't forget the Flitz used for polishing and hand fitting slides. Dychem comes in handy when fitting, a high quality digital caliper is used quite a bit also. I am sure there are more but these are the ones I use most. The main thing to remember is you get what you pay for and generally a little less so buy the best you can afford and they will last a lifetime instead of a week.
