Simple: Buy the best tools you can afford! As for a solder station,buy something reasonable. The solder station I use is more at the premium end of the market, but it justifies its investment each time I use it as it saves my time. Likewise my 'scope and multimeter aren't cheap items. For an analog 'scope, my tektronix 2465 is pretty hard to beat. I note there's plenty of them on offer on Ebay at prices substancially cheaper than I paid 15 years ago! I'd stay away from early generation digital scopes as they are pretty limited.

As for the comment regarding tin plate for a solder mask - methinks solder will stick to that also! If you are a sucker for punishment - make your own circuit boards for high density surface mount stuff - I know of people that do it and make it work. Personally, If I'm going to spend the time designing a pcb, I might as well pay some cash to get it made properly.