Originally Posted by
solo
The class description and the sheldonbrown wheel building intro (
http://sheldonbrown.com/wheels/index.html) both recommend starting with a new (assuming that means unassembled) rim and spokes. I guess that's to avoid any damage from an inital build.
if they are laced, but otherwise new, the things to watch out for while building: outside vs. inside spoke and the spoke marks in the hub.
Outside spokes, that is spokes with the head of the J towards the inside, will have a more acute angle.
Inside spokes, the spokes that have their head point outward, will have a more obtuse angle.
The hubs will have markings on the flanges, from where the spokes were in contact. It's best to not make new marks, because these marks are stress risers that lead to hub flange failure.
The best way to disassemble a prebuilt wheel, is to just remove all the outside spokes from both sides. Those are laced up last, so they also come out first. Then you will have a half laced wheel and won't have to worry about mixing up the inside and outside spokes and the only attention you will need to give is to line up the markings on the hub flange when lacing up the wheel again.