Here is a great source for wheel building and truing information. He's got instructions on how to make your own wheel "jig" (truing stand--he's British)--both from wood and metal, dishing gauge and nipple driver (I modified his type and made one out of a drill bit--much faster). The PDF book is downloadable for $9 and is easily worth the cost.
I'd already owned
truing stand so I didn't build a new one, but I did follow the instructions for the dishing gauge (both cardboard and wood) and as mentioned above, the nipple driver.