PCB Assembly Bootcamp
[Reproduction Game Carts Specific Information/Tutorial]
Tools for Soldering and Assembly
Hakko FX-888D Soldering Iron ~$95 (the defacto maker's choice slightly-higher-priced iron and here's a how-to guide.
Helping Hands (can be "helpful", but not good for many jobs. they're just not strong enough
PanaVise (the big brother of helping hands. stronger and better working features. look around on the web for deals)
Circuit Board Holder (cheap, works great. what we use at the space for many project)
ESD Safe Tweezers (curved are nice, straight are need too. really, you just need lots of different tweezers for different things. start a collection.)
Chip Puller (does what it says - pulls those IC's off)
Solder Sucker 1 & Solder Sucker 2 (basically these are the two types you most commonly see. not all are created equal even though they look the same. if ur going to do a lot, get the nice ones (links are the nice ones). if only on occasion, you can get by with a cheapy)
Hakko FR300 Desoldering Gun (people say this is a good one. i haven't used it. shop around)
Hot Air Reflow (blows hot air to melt solder.)
Tutorials on Tools Above
If you put any of these tools into youtube you can find tutorials. Adafruit often has very good videos on the tools they sale as well. Sparkfun as well but less often. There's also instructables.
PCB / Circuit Board Design CAD Tools
KiCad (popular, free, and opensource)
Eagle CAD (probably the most popular with hobbyist, board size limitation is a con)
Solder Stencils
Sparkfun's Tutorial on Using a Solder Paste Stencil
OSH Stencils (a place to upload designs and order stencils)
Sunstone Stencil (same as above)
Adafruit DIY Paste Stencil Tutorial
Small Batch PCB Ordering
iTead Studios (pros: cheap, good reputation | cons:long lead time since it comes from china)
OSHpark (pros: reliable, high quality, faster delivery | cons: expensiver)
PCB Assembly Services
Small Batch Assembly (has pic n' place machine - in Virginia - a makerspace supporter)
macrofab. (assembly house in Houston)
Where to Buy Parts, Chips, IC's
Digi-Key (sort by quantity to get common part - often info overload)
Mouser (narrower than Digi-Key, but still a lot)
Sparkfun (only the stuff you need as a hobbyist. until you don't, then see above), also and A Tutorial on IC's from Sparkfun.
Adafruit (even narrower than sparkfun, but even better tutorials, and supposed better trust/quality)
[www.buyicnow.com buyICnow.com] (where the replacement ROMs come from)
Ebay is also a common source for parts. Just be weary of shipping lead times, that you're getting the exact right part, and if it's an issue, that you can get it again. Don't build a product around an ebay product you may not be able to get again.
Electronics Testing Jigs
EEVblog Video on What They Are (there are many videos on this from that crazy aussie bastard. just search "eevblog testing jig".)
AdaFruits Testing Jig Tutorial
How-To from Sparkfun on Making a Testing Jig
Small Run Electronics Entrepreneurial
Tindie.com (the kickstarter of electronics - oh, and yeah, kickstarter ain't bad either.)
AdaFruit How-Tp on starting a hardware company
trusted book on getting stuff done for OSH hardware
Dragon Manufacturer Planning (for if you get past small run)
Bolt.io (venture capital on hardware - they're in maker news sometimes)
Some other Hardware Accelerators (frankly, like bolt, this stuff is kind of shooting at the stars, but what the hell. it's here if you want to look)