I don't know if you are on a strict budget or not.

If you're on a budget R12 gauges can be had really cheap at garage sales, ebay or lots of places. This is something that's been produced for over fifty years and in the car world, virtually obsolete for many people.

For a budget vacuum pump, go to an appliance repair shop and they will sell you an old refrigerator compressor for probably $5. Solder a 1/4 inch inverted flare fitting on the inlet and you've got a decent vacuum pump. If you want to get fancy make a frame with a handle and weld a bung in the top so you can change oil. I used a pump like this with great success for a number of years before getting a single stage wet vane.

If you're NOT on a tight budget, there are numerous online sources for a/c tools. The one that I've found with best prices and good service recently is tooltopia.com.

Also if time means more than saving money, you can get all this at your local supply house that caters to the residential/commercial HVAC service trade. The gauges and vacuum pump are both exactly the same equipment that these guys use because it is also used on R22 and R502.

Hope this helps.