Originally Posted by
goldfinch
This thread has pretty much convinced me to not try building wheels or to take a class. Too complicated for me and I am too impatient.
And, this ^^^ is part of the reason I replied as I did. That, and taking some of what Vesteroid posted personally.
Goldfinch, Wheel building is not hard. It is not a black art that requires thousands in tools to do an excellent job equal to or even exceeding what is turned out by many factories or so call "pros".
Jobst Brandt proofed his book on wheel building by handing it to his two sons and instructing them to build a wheel each. They did fine and so is the book. Or, several other resources available on the web will walk you through the process. Sheldon Brown's site has a great few page instruction that will, if followed, see you build an entirely successful wheel.
Now, if you're just not that interested, that's another story. Wheel building does require interest and care in what you're doing. NO book can substitute for those.