Originally Posted by
davidad
The spoke lengths look good.
I would get the double butted spokes. Either 15-16 or 14-15. It is not much more difficult to build with the butted spokes. When tightening them go about 1/4 turn too far then come back.
There is no real advantage to the 1.5 mm spokes and they are much harder to tension with.
Yeah I bought the DB spokes. Wheelsmith ones, decided on silver to save a little coin too. Thanks for the tips.
Originally Posted by
3alarmer
This method should work, but has more places to go astray
than the "make your own tool out of spokes" method.
I measured each rim 4 times in different spots and the number was always consistent, so I think I got it right. But since I got a different number than two experienced wheel builders used I probably butchered it and will end up with unusable spokes.
Originally Posted by
3alarmer
You take two two old spokes (or new ones), but they have to be pretty straight. Loctite the threads and screw the nipples on all the way until the spoke end is even with the bottom of the head groove. Let them dry and then mark exactly (and this is the only tricky part) on the spoke 100mm from the end of the spoke inside the nipple (you can see it ). You now have two spokes that you can insert as in your previous method, the nipples are fixed in place, and you
just need to pull them tight and measure the gap between your marks and add 200 to get your ERD.
I have a number of my build wheels up to fifteen years in age (I'm sorry, but I don't log mileage --not very scientific i know). The majority are built of straight gauge spokes because that's what was available to me cheaply. I use DT stainless almost exclusively. Durability is not an issue, so if you're going with the DB for that reason, I have some questions about the validity based on my own experience.
I'm not arguing that DB spokes are not superior, only that straight gauge are easier to work with, easy is better the first time out of the gate, and in all probability if you use
14G DT straights, your wheels will last a long time.
Regards
Mike Larmer
I was thinking the same thing about the spokes, but I decided on the DB anyway. I don't anticipate too much trouble with this, but who knows. I'll certainly keep this thread updated as I go along since I will most likely have many more questions. Thanks.
Alan