There are millions of machine built wheels that also didn't break their spokes. We aren't discussing wheels that don't break elbows, but wheels that do.

Maybe your hub flanges are wider. Maybe your rims are particularly stiff, minimizing tension changes while rolling. Maybe you got spokes with short J bends. Maybe you stressed the spokes when building sufficiently to collapse the bends. It doesn't matter why you're getting away with it since anecdotal evidence isn't evidence. People that have built lots of wheels the right way and the wrong way are familiar with the results of both.

And setting bends isn't anything more dramatic than pushing the spoke past the midline of the hub. Sheldon Brown likes a hammer, but it really is just about getting the elbows-out spokes to come off the flange at the same angle the elbows in spokes do automatically.