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Finished the front wheel up. It's running straight after a brief struggle 1st time around. Had to loosen em up then re-tension a number of times to get it right. Rear rim is next.
Nice! Best part of the build right there! The balancing of tension is so rewarding. Making up for an uneven spoke bed & not very precise hub flanges. Every kind of wheel build has its own challenges, but getting good even tension on old rims & hubs is one of the more skillful operations.
Pic below is a 1st attempt before de-tensioning and going at it again. Notice the two straight gauge 15g spokes I accidentally laced in to the 14g brass nips. When the wheel was back in the stand again being re-tensioned, these went "POP" goes the weasel and finally let loose. Somehow I mixed them in with the new butted 14/15g Wheelsmiths'. Yes, this wheel took much longer for sure to get correct.
I finished the rear 26" wheel of my early (1933/4) super balloon clincher wheelset today. This one didn't give me too many complaints getting it straight. It for sure took some time to find two good clean rims that matched but I lucked out. You never really see these rims, and particularly undamaged so I'm really happy to have them built up in hand. I'll run them on a bike for a short ride then put them back in the stand to re-tension. As you know, the spokes and nips finally bed into place after a good short ride. Now I just need a bike put them on~!
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