Originally Posted by
noglider
I have still never used a tension meter. I built many wheels before tension meters were invented, so I haven't felt the need.
I do like having a dishing tool, but I don't consider it essential. I've occasionally used two stacks of books or whatever what was on hand.
The most essential tool is a set of excellent spoke wrenches.
If lacing wheels, it's nice to have a modified screwdriver for driving nipples in. I just file the sides of the blade so the middle sticks out. I did this with a super-cheapo screwdriver. Works well.
Ditto to all of the above. I've built perfectly suitable and durable wheels using nothing more than a flipped-over frame to true the wheels. Dishing was just a process of flipping the wheel around to compare the offset to one fixed point.
It helps to have learned on a quality truing stand. The Park Tool TS-2 has a centering feature. While not perfect, it really helps shorten the learning curve of getting a wheel round, true, and centered.