Originally Posted by
Drew Eckhardt
That's a fine idea.
What combinations would those be which don't involve a spoke machine putting longer threads on?
It's usually not a question of spoke length. Just about all the spokes I use have 10mm of thread, which is plenty, since only 3mm of engagement is necessary or beneficial.
However nipple thread length varies greatly. Somewhere, MrRabbit has a list of pairings showing the overrun range.
More nipple thread makes it easier to lace up a wheel since the spokes engage sooner, and the wheel can be laced before there's any tension. Some (lousy) builders also use this extra thread as an excuse to err to the short end of spoke length in calculations ending up with spokes well short of the heads of the nipples.
Less nipple thread allows more overrun. I look for 12mm nipples with about 4-6mm of thread relief in the flats, which combined with 10mm of spoke thread means 3-4mm overrun possible at the head. Sometimes, I can't find what I need, or need more than normal overrun, so I'll put a 2mm drill into a vise and drill out more thread. This is a slow PIA process and not worth it based on what nipples cost, but I'll do it if/when necessary.