Wow, I thought I was the only one who jumps in and tries stuff. I like the idea of averaging out leading/lagging spokes. I'll have to keep that one in mind in case I ever need to do this.

I have a lot of spokes in my collection too. I never throw anything away. Even broken spokes are saved and made into "wheel/rim" hanging hooks since they really hold their shape when bent into a hook -much better than even coat-hanger wire.