Originally Posted by
frenchfry53
Rims were definitely made by my FIL. That's not a question. It was his job. He did it at 3(that I know of) LBS. Not "throwing it around" as you say. That's the one thing we know for sure he definitely did! ☺️
...if you ask, I'm sure they will tell you that those "rims" were purchased from some company that makes and sells them. I'm not suggesting your FIL is telling stories, only trying to point out to you that he built the wheels, from individual components (rims, spokes, hubs). I'm sure he was an excellent mechanic. I'm sure he worked on bicycles. He doubtless assembled and tensioned those wheels.
Nobody makes their own rims. It would make fitting tires almost impossible.
Here's a link to the wheel rims currently available on Amazon. Maybe this will further clarify what I'm trying to communicate. The rim is the aluminum alloy ring, that runs around between the spoke nipples and the tires. The entire construction is commonly called the wheel.
I'm not trying to belittle your FIL's mechanical skills. Only trying to point out that you're making this seem more difficult than it actually ought to be.