Building something for yourself can be very rewarding. That being said, if you are going to do it with minimal tools, then it will end up being pricey for what you will get. The reason is simple ... you will really be just assembling the parts and since you have to buy all the parts at retail prices, they will end up being much more costly than buying the completely assembled rifle from the factory. I have built several on old Mausers (most of them Turks that had horrible wood and sewer pipe looking barrels ... but sound actions). This allowed me to start with a $39 action. I have access to a lathe, so I was also able to use barrel blanks where I cut my own threads and chambers. Even doing all the work myself, I am sure that I could have bought a Savage for close to the same price ... maybe I saved a little, but not a whole lot. BUT ... these are my rifles and I get a lot of satisfaction from doing them myself. I also have some calibers that I probably couldn't have gotten in a factory Savage rifle (330 Dakota, 7mm-08 Ackley, 22-250 Ackley, 45acp
, etc) ...
As for what is required ... if you get a Mauser action, you can get a barrel that is short chambered and then rent a reamer and head-spacing gages to finish the chamber once you install the barrel (need an action wrench and a barrel wrench). If you want to mount a scope, then you will need a drilling jig or a mill to get the holes right. If you use a stock that is semi-inletted, you will need some wood working tools to get the barrel channel opened up for your barrel ... simple, but time consuming. If you use a surplus military action, then you will need some way of getting the bolt bent to clear the scope ... I assume that if you bought a new commercial action that the bolt would already come bent ... but I'm not sure. All this CAN be done in the home garage shop, but you have to do a lot of research and take your time to do it right.
There is a LOT of info on this in the Smithy section of TFL ... in any case, I would recommend one of Jerry Kuhnhausen's shop guides that you should be able to find at Amazon.com ... his Mauser book gave me a lot of valuable info.
Hope this helps,
Saands