It will take some hours(cooldown on the job) to grind to the required reputation, but for a lone crafter, it will generally be better to use Gunrunners. It may be camped by undesirables, too, but in different ways perhaps. If so, you should still have an easier time(as in less travel, not to mention a guarded area), even if you have to just come back later. Also Adytum has the joy of having a train station going to NCR or SF, both with shops and mines, with the Junktown mine north of LA.
As for your desire for HQ mats, you should perhaps invest in a friend, or a caravan, and farm a bit of a stash before moving to the adv. bench.
And you should probably stop going there with your shit without first making sure its safe. Either redo your build and invest in merc-spam or acquire friends and play cheap. Sneakers, Heavy-handed spam, and 9mm crits are all viable, low cost alternatives, if requiring some experience or practice. THere are usually options, you just gotta bother to not rush.
