I was in the same position you are in. Wanting an AR but on a budget. I bought a Delton. …it was great (so I thought) I found this forum and started learning that it was not so great. I read and read and read until I thought I had a better idea of what makes a good AR15. Colt 6920 was the answer and for $919 a year and a half ago, no regrets. I sold my delton to a redneck during the sandy hook days for $1250 (hey… he offered) I bought the Colt and lots more ammo… listen to these guys, they wont steer you wrong.
A build isnt about “saving money” in my book. The tools alone will put you $300+ in the hole. Buy a colt. Shoot the colt. Find an instructor and take a carbine course. Get a good feel for the gun before you waste money on doo-dads. If this offends you, sorry, its the M4C mentality, and im (my opinion) with it.
I was in the same position you are in. Wanting an AR but on a budget. I bought a Delton. …it was great (so I thought) I found this forum and started learning that it was not so great. I read and read and read until I thought I had a better idea of what makes a good AR15. Colt 6920 was the answer and for $919 a year and a half ago, no regrets. I sold my delton to a redneck during the sandy hook days for $1250 (hey… he offered) I bought the Colt and lots more ammo… listen to these guys, they wont steer you wrong.
Yes, another win for marketing.
I bought the specialized tools for literally under $50. Closer to $35 if I don’t count shipping because I didn’t order them alone.
That was too good a deal to pass up. 
OP, here you go… WAY better than Delton and for sure a great budget build / learning experience for you.
As previously said, I would recommend looking for a Colt 6920 or 6720 on sale. Can’t really go wrong with those choices. If the Colt is out of your price range, I would look at an S&W before any others in the lower than Colt price range. Unless you are lucky and get everything for a pretty good discount, in the end you will not likely save a ton of money putting one together yourself. You could also look into BCM, Sionics if you want to spec an upper/lower separately.
Would you please list the tools you bought for 35-50 bucks and from where. Thanks
One of the tools is a torque wrench. I use a $175 PROTO torque wrench. Well I use it often so I didn’t crap out when I bought it. You might be able to get away with those $20 manual meter ones. (Autozone $20?) other than that. The roll punches and mallets arent too pricy. Then again you’d also need receiver blocks. I use a Geissele RR. The lower block was $12 at academy:)
I also, want to see the list. Could be useful 
You can get one on ebay for $150. I rotate my own tires so i needed a good torquer. I have all proto hand tools so i know they are GTG.
I don’t have any of the tools really to build an AR. So when I looked at buying them it was over $100 for all the stuff I saw in the building videos that Brownells have on their site on building AR’s.
At that price they were either junk tools or he stole them from some poor widow.
You’re at $100 - $150 for decent stuff, not counting a quality torque wrench.
I bought this when it was on sale for $13 at PSA, along with a set of upper and lower vise blocks for $20. http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/3298/category/231/
All the other common tools (bench vise, punches, hammer, c-clamp, pliers, etc) I already owned.
Sheesh you guys. I have all the ‘expensive’ tools now but when I started building ARs I didn’t.
First off: A torque wrench isn’t a specialty tool for building an AR. You can borrow one from NAPA or Autozone. I still use the GI barrel wrench that I bought for around $10 (I think, it’s been more than a few years) to install barrels that don’t have some proprietary barrel nut.
Secondly: If you build from a kit you don’t need a torque wrench, the upper will be complete. A basic set of punches will get the lower together. Sure the roll pin punches and holders are nice but the basic set will do. Just be patient, cover everything with tape that you don’t want scratched, and go slow. A carbine stock wrench is less than $10 if you need one. You don’t need a special block to hold the lower. You don’t need a special block to hold the upper if building from a kit and not installing a barrel. You don’t need headspace gauges. Save all those purchases for later if you decide you want to build more.
Don’t buy into the ‘go big or go home’ mentality. Certainly don’t buy junk. The PSA kit listed above would be a great start. Just think about this as a journey rather than and end game. It makes it easier to adapt to what lies ahead when you think of your current state as a stepping stone rather than a final outcome.
So you bought everything you didn’t already have for 35-50 bucks? What did the stuff you already have set you back?
Building an AR is easy. Till it isn’t
I saw this in a sig line here but forgot who has it
I think I paid $50 for my bench vise, everything else like my hammer, punches, c-clamp, pliers, were a few bucks here and there. But it isn’t like a I needed to own every single tool. I have friends with a vise, or pliers, or a hammer. It’s just the AR specific tools that people may or may not have access to. I did, with my competitive shooting connections, but I still decided to buy them myself. I could of built my AR with zero out of pocket costs for tools, but that isn’t realistic for every single person.
This discussion is less about what is actually needed, and more about “I can speculate about all sorts of problems that you won’t have if you just buy the Colt.” Some people look for problems, some people look for solutions, that’s just life.
It’s about expectations. If you just want a weekend plinker, an AR so that you can show your buddies your “Army gun”…by all means, focus on cost and your highest goal can be a consumer-grade firearm. While you’re at it, if you’re looking for pistols, see if you can find any good deals on Hi Points, Jennings, Lorcin, or Bryco.
Personally, I take enough pride in my tools that I skip right over the crap from Harbor Freight that might be “good enough” and just go right to “good”. Same with firearms. YMMV, but if you’re looking for endorsement for your quality rationalizations, you might be barking up the wrong firearms discussion forum.
I use my guns for shooting thousands of round a year, not as a basis for judging others.
Feeling judged, are you?
As long as it looks like a real gun, it will be good enough, eh? It’s just a hobby, after all.
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I feels the loctite coming.