I've been thinking lately that I should invest in a decent steel or brass punch tool kit.  They will come in handy for my AR builds that I am planning.  There are a lot of sets out there and I don't know what is a good quality, the most commonly used sizes, brass or steel, etc.  Any and all recommendations are much appreciated.

Starrett.

Ok, I've seen those.

Starrett period

Grace makes a very nice set

Listen to this guy.
Hands down.

I know that this is an older thread but I was trying to find a push in the right direction.  So I purchase a wiz bang trigger guard for a whopping $16, then I figure out that I need a roll pin punch set to take it out and the right way to reinsert the pin is with a set of roll pin holders first then finish with a roll pin punch.  Looking at middle of road sets from Brownells I figure it will cost me about $75 to buy the roll pin punches and holders to install this less than $20 part.  I know that I could buy a specific size punch and a specific size holder but I will be able to use the sets later on with other projects.  



I guess that I am just venting about the costs of what should be very inexpensive sets.  By the way if you try and buy Starrett sets, at least double that price.  UG!

I'll go against the grain.  Unless you plan on doing it as a daily business, I don't know that it terribly matters.

On the first build I did, I just bought the cheapest "ar15 punch set" that I could find, and it's done perfectly well through all of the rifles I've built.  Nothing bent, nothing scratched, nothing "rolled", they just performed as you would expect.

I suppose someone, somewhere may make one out of completely horrible, inappropriate steel, but they're probably few and far between.  I imagine that if you got one from any recognizable brand name, you'd be fine.

Thanks for the comments.  Bought the Grace 7 piece roll pin punch set and a Brownells roll pin holder set.  I wish that I could have spent the money on something more wizz bang, but I want to do the job correctly.

I wouldn't suggest cheap Wheeler set. The thicker brass punches are ok, but the thinner steel ones in my set started to peen with their 1st use( and no, I was not beating the shit out of them)

STARRETT, the best made. Snap-On would be second choice.