Originally Posted by
jimc101
Do the math on this, as spokes/nipples and rims aren't cheap, you may find it's cheaper to just buy a complete wheel, go back before factory wheels existed (late 90's early '00s), and building made sense, if you are starting now, would really question why unless you needed something non-standard.
Given what the op said, a wheelbuild without a tensionmeter or any of the tools will NOT be cheaper than buying a wheel outright. Not even close.