I'll pile on. There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of. I knew this from about age three, from watching my Grandfather building wheels in the evening to help out my Uncle (who had a bike shop). I sure wish I had that old truing stand though. The basics are simple enough, and you learn pretty quickly as you go along - as long as you have a little bit of focus on what you're doing. I'm up to about a dozen sets of wheels, and the last three sets I've made up came out really, really nicely. When he gets back from Afghanistan in the spring, ask Gilberto about the wheels on the LHT.