Is it always necessary to respace/dish the rear wheel?
 

Sorry for the newb thread, not a SS/FG expert...
I am trying to build a budget SS. I have a mid 80s Panasonic Sport 1000 (12 speed) that I've pulled all the geared components on. I was going to thread on a BMX freewheel..but my question is this, do you always have to respace the rear wheel?

I'm assuming the answer is yes...something I"m not familiar with doing.

Depends on where the chainline ends up.

Be careful if you do, I re-dished an old racing wheel for my Sekine and although redishing went quickly and smoothly (I used a sheet of cardboard and a ruler as my dishing gauge) the entire wheel went slack within two days. I'm still not sure why, but I assume it's because I ended up with badly uneven spoke tension.

I didn't redish, and it's worked out fine.

almost always yes.

you can get away with a straight chainline if you are running a small front ring. the issue comes with the ring hitting the chainstay... you will definitely have to use the inner side of a road double and possibly a BB with a shorter spindle to achieve good chainline, and you will probably have to use a smaller chainring to not hit the stays. problem is, of course, that BMX freewheels come in 15t at the very smallest, and most only go down to 16t... most people will want to run at least a 44t chainring with that.