Originally Posted by
pdlamb
I've probably spent $150 on tools (truing stand, tensiometer, spoke wrenches) and Brandt's book.
I've probably saved at least twice that doing my own wheels, both in savings for replacing broken spokes ($20-35 each and they add up), and catching problems early and fixing them before a break.
It's not hard. The key ingredient to building, rebuilding, or fixing a bike wheel is patience.
Not my problem has become, I'm running out of broken spokes. They're quite handy for stiff/strong wires to have around the house for various projects.
Decades ago I splurged on a pro Park truing stand, was kind of fun to build wheels & I suppose I saved a bit of money. Lately I've bought machine-built wheels with good results so I haven't built wheels in a long time. Building own wheels might be fun & practical esp if using primo hubs etc. Truing stand isn't a must but I found it very helpful esp for rim-brake wheels, also can help if one needs to re-tension machine-built wheels. With Park pro stands one can use their brake rotor gauge, I'm thinking about trying that since truing rotors can be a bit fiddly.