the tinker
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
It's fun to learn something new, and provides a sense of achievement. I'm with Catfish, I forget after a while. When I do lace up some wheels, it ends up being several, one right after another. Then none for at least a year. I had the same feeling when I learned to re-cover saddles. I look for old rims and saddles at swaps. A pile of crummy looking wheels can be found at any swap, cheap. Their aren't many in our hobby that can lace wheels and few give them a second look. Look closely, there's always some gems that are nice and straight. I've bought bargain wheels for a buck each to salvage spokes, hubs and the longer brass nipples. It's nice to have a supply of re-furbished wheels and saddles for the next bare-bones frame you find. Don't get discouraged if you come out wrong or get messed up. Just pull it all apart and start over. My friend, the late Eddie Boros's wife used to lace wheels for Schwinn. It was piece work. Lois got paid 25 cents per wheel!