The last - and only - wheelset that I had ever built myself was over 43 years ago! That wheelset lasted somewhere close to 30k miles before I was stupidly inattentive while riding and inadvertently dropped 7" sideways off the edge of the pavement surface and tacoed the rear wheel. Narrow 19mm 27" clincher rims (Mavic, Wolber, or ???), butted stainless spokes (rare at that time) and Phil hubs, along with a then-new six-speed Ultra-spaced freewheel and bulged-sideplate Uniglide chain.... Those wheels cost me a whopping ~$100 to build back then - and my Fuji S-10S only cost me $195 brand new!
This was back when I was attending Ohio State and was a member of the OSU cyclling club. We had a budget surplus from our inaugural '77 Club-sponsored ride (TGRR - The Great Reservoir Ride) towards the end of the school year, and rather than turn in the surplus to the college, I suggested that the club invest in the future (for future years' members) and buy a repair stand, truing stand and dish tool for club use. WOW, was that a popular suggestion. We individual students had our own hand tools, but fixtures like that we didn't. From what I know now I would have also suggestion a spoke tension meter, but I'm not sure that those existed back then. We 'plucked' the spokes for an even sound...