In my youth I used a vise called Vac-u-vise that had all types of attachments. Not for stereo gear, but to build slot car frames out of piano wire and rewire (tweak) the little armiture motors as well. I am not sure if they are still around but thet were both affordable and precision made and would be good for sub assemblies.
How about a soldering thread?
There's one thread with some good tips on soldering i.c.'s, but like many, I'd like to tackle the Homegrown cable kits. I suppose the instructions are good but I know from teaching hand cutting dovetails that there are things I do, things you don't hear about, that make the job easier and the joints more precise. Things like spending ten minutes turning a crosscut into a ripsaw, making chisels "scary sharp" and finding the inside and outside of boards.Let's hear from some veteran kit builders, please.