Just tight enough that the cogs don't jiggle around. It's not like they're going to fall off or anything.

john, get thee to a nunnery.. I mean a good wheel builder.

^^^ This. Ask me how I know.

How do you know?

Yeah - the thing with that is one or two trips to an LBS for spoke replacement & truing or one trip to a wheel builder costs the same as a new commuter grade wheel that I can beat on for 6months and then replace. I've got no confidence that their services will last that long so don't go.

Learning myself instead, did the first rebuild 200mi ago and seems ok so we'll see...

I have a torque wrench and use it. Some may find fault with the use of torque wrenches and specifications and the variability in actual torque that always results but the fact is I have never had a problem with the lock ring coming loose or with getting it off again.

Works for me - 40 N.m

40 nm, now I have to go figure out what that is in lbs...

just did , about 30 foot lbs.

I dont know how much you weigh, but if you get even a reasonably priced wheel it should last for years. Im only 140 but have toured a fair amount, so in the end you just have to get a wheel that either has spoke count or overal build quality and so what if it weighs x amount of grams more than a lighter set, if you dont have to worry about breaking spokes then it would be worth it. If however you want to save x amount of grams then thats your call.
All the best with your rebuilt wheel. That is something I would like to learn one day.

I'm 250lbs, complete masher, race traffic standing on pedals and love to rock the bike - all bad things for rear wheel spokes. Thanks for the wishes on the rebuild - I'll have to keep people posted on the appropriate thread and share my tips.