Thank you, sir. Since my daughter cares nothing about bicycles, you can have it when I die. But you can't have my shotguns. She does want those.

This is my thing. As a professional engineer, I love the engineering marvel that is the bicycle wheel. The bicycle wheel is perhaps the strongest structure ever devised when you look at it ounce-for-ounce. And your wheels have more impact on a bicycle's ride and performance than any other component on the whole bike... bar none. A great wheelset can transform a bike from a slug to a gazelle. I learned to build wheels just so I could know all the secret black magic that those pro mechanics practice... and now I don't trust anyone else to build my wheels.

My favorite thing in wheelbuilding: older 7400 series DuraAce hubs
You can get them for a song... even on eBay where the buyers are insane. I think it's because folks who generally use DuraAce are the kind of folks who want brand new stuff. And DuraAce hubs are very very easy to rebuild. Invest in a big bag of 3/16" Grade 25 ball bearings and as long as nobody trashed the cones and races, you're all set.

So if I was going to build a set of great 650b wheels and try to save money: DuraAce front hub... rear hub depends on your spacing (but if you're doing a vintage frame, then a 126mm wide DuraAce rear is great... good quality butted spokes (I like the really thin ones like DT Swiss Revolution 2.0/1.5 butted... hard to build with if you're new to wheelbuilding though)... good light rims (I used Velocity Synergy rims and loved the way they built up)... alloy nipples. Build them yourself. Save bucks.