Most cams will come in very close dot to dot. I can't remember if it was the last engine I built, or the one before that, that I had to throw in a couple of degrees more advance to get the recommended timing. It's worthy to check it, just so you are informed if the final build becomes turdish. Reference the recent 350 thread a month or two ago, where an engine build should have been fairly hot, yet fell flat. One of the first questions was "did you degree the cam?" If cam timing is only off by a degree or two, but then gets exacerbated later by chain stretch, it could become disappointing.
A mild driver build with an 066 cam or Summit 2800 could easily be stabbed dot to dot. But if you go through the trouble of carefully planning out performance parts, you might as well do those parts the honor of a degree wheel check. I've used a paper plate and a printable degree wheel from the internet to check cam timing. You'll learn a lot, and be satisfied you confirmed it.
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"...ridge reamer and ring compressor? Do they have tools like that?"
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