With respect.. you and I think a few others misunderstand the reason for this thread.

My intent... was to 'dump it all out so to speak'.. ie, best techniques for durability.. with a focus on NDS tension. After I had an LBS build done.. my problems disappeared. I took up building because it interested me.. and.. had a NDS break late one Saturday afternoon which meant Monday late am at the earliest for a fix. So.. I decided to take it up and learn.

My focus NDS.. seems that is the most problematic group of breaking spokes... espechially for us heavies. Why not learn it right.. starting out. My idea to get all the sage advice out there.. and by and large I believe I have. I intend to write all of this up and lay it out here... which is underway. Let the experienced hands again critique it... newcomers then may find some of it useful.. all in one thread.

I'm 7-8 wheels completed.. a couple I tore down again and reworked for the experience. I'm confident they'll stand up. I rode my 48H build for 3 trips but the salt laying on the roads winter here is unreal. I have a winter set in the white so to speak (salt covered).. so I'll wait till spring to get mileage on my personal builds.

A note on that break mentioned above: wheel was near 2800 miles.. one NDS inbound near the head. Yet that 36H wheel barely wobbled... albeit my rear pads setup to wide. I did do my ride.. and the next day too. LBS replaced that spoke.. and no problems since.. around 500 mi ago. Rim was a rebuild also.. I'm very happy with how it's performed.