As a "Tool Man", it is hard to say that you would have this and do without that. A good bench is great, my first gun was built on a dining table. Because of my machine shop background, it is hard to imagine not having a good pair of calipers. Mallets of different weights for different work are important to me and as you can build as good or better than you can buy, they are not expensive and a pleasant project on their own. No one has mentioned a calculator, which is kept handy and often used in my shop. It is generally good advise to buy what is required to accomplish the work that you are doing, rather than buy something on speculation. As time and money permit, you find yourself upgrading certain tools in conjunction with developing skills and techniques. Its funny, but I only recently acquired my first set of gunsmith screwdrivers; now I can't figure out why I waited for them.