Originally Posted by
garage sale GT
P. S. why not test the wheel without putting it in the bike?
That works for hubs in perfect condition. Where one is running a little rough you feel the drop in smoothness before it's tight enough to eliminate lateral play in the rim.
Of course with a work stand it's pretty easy to adjust bearings with the wheels on the bike. Loosen the QR most of the way to allow adjustment but keep the axle from turning, adjust so that the play goes away, and then back-off until play returns but goes away with the skewer closed (unless running something like the Campagnolo hubs with alloy axles that have no change in preload with the skewer closed in which case you stop when there's no play and don't need to loosen the QR).