Stuming a spoke tells you nothing. You need to strum a bunch of them. And you don't need to be a pro. Begin somewhere and pluck one and then the next, and the next. Some will sound very similar and one here or there will be noticeably higher or lower. Keep plucking in the area where you will little by little tighten or loosen the offending spokes and adjust the nearby ones so they don't get to out of "tune". Then go back to your truing and stress relieving routine. Repeat.

67tony, because spokes coming from the inside of the hub travel a slightly different length to a rim than those from the outside, it is normal for them to have a slightly different tightness if all the nipples has been screwed on the same amount. I use a tension meter when building wheels so I can't offer much advice on how to do it without one. However I can say that when I tighten the spokes to the right tension they are probably a bit tighter than a novice might think. If you have a properly built wheel you can ping or pluck their spokes to get the pitch and copy that sound on the wheel you are building. Of course the thickness and length of the spokes play a part in the sound. There starts to be pretty strong resistance when turning the spoke wrench as it comes up to the right tension. So much so that on some wheels, if they were not properly lubricated on both the spoke treads and rim, the spokes tend to twist (or wind up) as the nipple is turned.

I'm not a betting person but I'm going to guess that as you true your wheel, the probability that you ask some more questions will be pretty high.

There’s an app called “Tensioner” that does an OK job of calculating spoke tension based on plucked tone. As Doug Fattic mentions, spoke diameter and free length from nipple to first crossing are input variables. Both are easily accomplished with “dials” on the iPad. Just be sure that ambient noise is very low. It’s results are reasonably close to the fancy DT spoke tension meter that I was recently gifted.

Pre-internet, I’d just compare the plucked tones to a known good wheel. When instructing fellow volunteers at Bike Works, where we encounter bikes that have suffered all manner of abuse/neglect, I tell them to shoot for a middle-of-the-scale musical note.

You are likely spot-on with that statement!
I remain very grateful for the advice I am absorbing...this site is truly amazing.

Tightening continues today. The equalization of spoke tensions, while remaining round and true, is the focus.
I may even investigate the tonal iphone app, just because it sounds kind of fun!

IMO don't get too hung up on equalizing spoke tension. It is normal for there to be some variation. A lot of beginners have the misconception that if all the spokes are just brought to exactly equal tension, the wheel will be perfectly built and true. In the real world, this doesn't happen. Aim to get them pretty even, but perfectly round and true. Do watch for outliers that are much tighter than other spokes. In the days before spoke tension meters, spokes were sometimes compared with those on a known well built wheel to assess overall tension. After a while, you just brought them to tension from experience by feel. I have a spoke tension meter now, and I love being able to measure, but it isn't strictly necessary.

One trick that has always helped me is that I orient the flats of the nipples so they are always vertical or parallel to the ground (until the very end). Most adjustments are done in quarter turn increments. That way if you are making the wheel rounder and are tightening 2 spokes coming from 2 flanges, it is easier to keep track that both nipples are turned the same amount (at least for me). In the same way when you are truing side to side and one nipple is loosened and the other tightened. Towards the end this pattern of a quarter turn adjustments and doing both sides the same amount changes - but you are not there yet so there is no need so explain about that now.

My tip for Wednesday morning is that I focus on rim roundness a lot more than side to side when bringing the wheel up to tension. I just try to keep the side to side grossly correct as i tighten all the spokes. While I am doing that I use my Campy wheel dishing tool to see if the rim is centered over the axle nuts. If not (and it is almost always not) I tighten all the spokes in the direction the rim needs to go. This allows me to tell if there are any trouble spokes either too loose or too tight. Sometimes if it is far out I loosen all the opposite side spokes for the double reason that I am not only moving the rim in the direction it needs to go but also trying to discover if there are any problem spokes. You never truly get a wheel round so it is always possible to keep tightening 2 (or 4) spokes from opposite flanges as they hit your truing stand letting you know they are the loosest spokes in the wheel at that moment. Rinse and repeat many times.

You are always going to have issues around the seam. I often take a file to knock off a tiny bit of the excess sticking out just a bit.

Spot on again, Doug.

Instinctively, I used the squared up nipple advice, even before reading your tip!
I also kept a close eye on roundness, and appear to be in good shape there.

I don't have the dishing tool, but kept flipping the wheel to monitor that, as has been suggested.
At one time I did tighten all the spokes on one side, and that corrected it.

The seam is noticed by feel, ever so slightly, but filing scares me due to scratching.

A video shows my result, but I'll have to figure out how to upload it!

Upload the video to Vimeo or the like, and post the link.
Rim-centering tool can be fabbed with a couple of stacks of books and some sort of spacer to put on the floor under the end of the axle.

Not too shabby?

Do I do this even if I intend to one day sell the bike?
Of course, I suppose announcing it a "budget" rim does not enhance value...

I'd like to officially give kudos, and much thanks, to Doug Fattic, Salamandrine, SurferRosa, and narhay for great input and tutoring. Other tips, and (commiserations!) were helpful as well. As a noobie I struggled even with all the instructions...I can't imagine where I'd have been without it.

I'm sure many of the referenced books are great, but I'm probably truing more than building wheels, so the ability to learn from this site without a reference book is very much appreciated. The resources found here are invaluable on may levels, and on most every topic.

Rear wheel is next, and I'm excited to tackle it.
With luck I'll not have to start a new topic,...but that may be a tad optimistic!

You didn't mention anything about prepping the spokes and rim before building. I assume you put a little grease on each rim hole and some kind of lubricant on all the spoke treads? I use Spoke Prep from Wheelsmith but a number of different lubricants can work. For example a thicker oil like Phil Wood. And I've heard of linseed oil too (because when wet it is like an oil but as it drys it keeps the nipple from turning like Loctite. In fact almost any oil will work.

Different wheel builders have different methods and philosophies for their choices. My preference is for the pulling spokes to have their head in the inside and body on the outside on both flanges. When I set up to build a rear wheel, I like the cassette or freewheel threads to be facing me when all the pieces are laying on a table. I do the inside spokes 1st and start lacing them to the right of the valve hole when it is in the 6 o'clock position. By always placing them that way I am less likely to make a lacing mistake.

Yes, I used an old tube of white Schwinn bike grease on the spokes, and a Vaselined q-tip on the rim eyelets.
I also went past and backed off when things got tighter, to un-tension the spokes.

Based on your description above, and others who chimed in, my pulling spokes are also on the outside of both flanges.

Linseed oil works great. It's been my favorite spoke lube for decades. These days I use walnut oil instead, because I have it around for guitar fretboards. It is basically the same thing, a drying vegetable oil. If I didn't use that I'd use the wheelsmith stuff. Don't get carried away, keep it light, and IMO avoid teflon products. I made that mistake once.

Pulling spokes on the inside vs outside is a good debate to have on long bike rides. BITD there were also proponents of asymmetrical. All have their ups and downs, pick your team... I prefer pulling inside and symmetrical, which is pretty mainstream I guess. I do still use 4x sometimes, especially for high flange, which is a bit old fashioned.

The final step is riding your wheel for awhile. And then re-true it. Once is almost always enough.
I also use the strumming method. I spin the wheel and insert my thumbnail to the correct depth. I am not a detail guy. Never have been. The first wheelset I built, nearly 10 years ago, is still in regular use. Still straight and true. It's not rocket science.
But. Even before I began building wheels, for many years, I very much enjoyed truing them. For me, that is where it's at. Lacing is just a means to an end.

Which lacing method did you end up using overall? I found Sheldon Brown's site the simplest, even if some parts weren't 100% clear even on multiple readings. It was the simplest for me and I was successful using it. I particularly liked the colored spoke illustrations.

So far I've only laced one set of wheels. Truing to me seems more daunting, but then I haven't actually tried it. What was the more difficult aspect for you?

Measuring without a clear database consensus for hub and rim combination for spoke lengths can also be stressful. I found https://leonard.io/edd/ to be very helpful.

I found this to be true as well. Once I was done lacing my wheels, I was surprised I'd done it correctly, even though it looked right. My mechanic was able to true them right up though to me the spokes felt pretty wonky, some too tight, others too loose, all seemingly after giving each equal turns on the threads to get them ready for truing.

Standard three-cross was recommended by many, so that is what I used. Pulling spokes are on the outside of the flange, trailing spokes on the inside...but apparently there is no clear agreement on whether that is best, not best, or, "it matters not."

Lacing was challenging at first (as evidenced by the help I sought on this thread!), but my second wheel laced up without a problem. I think I had so much practice taking apart and trying again on the first one that I became proficient with the pattern.

I meant which instructions for lacing did you end up finding most helpful? So after lacing a few wheels, is truing now the more challenging aspect of building wheels?

Sorry, should have figured what you meant.

I used Sheldon's instructions for a while, but after some frustrations and a lot of help from this forum, I gravitated to the site with the colored spokes. It's almost funny how easy the lacing of the second wheel was, once I got acclimated to the pattern and terminology.

I would say that truing is more challenging than lacing, and especially so when considering the time involved to accurately true a wheel.