Wheel building - nipple misery

[Johnsqual]

Hello,

I'm having a first go at wheel building. I've had a couple of gos at it,
but I run into problems when I get to screwing the last couple of
nipples onto the spokes - the end of the spoke is always just a bit
too far from the nipple, and no amount of pulling the other spokes
seems to get it any closer.

I've been following Sheldon Brown's instructions and so far as I can tell
I'm not doing anything else wrong.

Can anyone suggest any tips because this is very frustrating?

Many thanks,

Johnny

 

[bm0p700f]

How have you calculated your spoke length? That maybe wrong.
Is the hub centred in the rim? Pics would be helpful.

How many turns of the nipple have you put on all the other spokes? Maybe turning those back will create some slack and allow you then screw those nipples on and then you will be able to tension the wheel if the spoke length is right.

Longer nipples may help if the spoke length is correct.

Check your spoke length. Or give us/me the dimensions of hub and ERD of your rim. There is a thought did you measure the ERD of the rim yourself or did you take some one else measurement of the this rim type? If so that could be your mistake. If you do not know how to measure up a rim and hub I will happily post some diagrams and instructions to help you. Or other may have something preprepared.

At least your are having a go. The first build is never going to be easy.

 

[Johnsqual]

Hello,

Thanks for the quick reply. I am just using an old wheel that was true
when I started, so as far as I can tell the spokes are the correct length.

I will try keeping the wheel in a dish stick to hold the hub in the centre,
maybe that will help.

Cheers,

Johnny

 

[Simon Daw]

Just put perhaps three turns on each nipple as you assemble the wheel. Once it's assembled, do them all up to roughly the same tension - if the spokes are the correct length, the end of the thread will be a useful visual aid. Once at that stage, put one turn / one half turn on each nipple to tension.

 

[Jonny69]

First build is always a confusing nightmare! Stick with it!

You might be making the same mistake I made following that guide. Double check how many spokes you're crossing. I'm guessing you're following the guide for a 'cross three' pattern; just double check you're not crossing four spokes by mistake, because it'll stop the spokes reaching! You'll be able to see it at the hub end if that's the case, because the overlapping spokes will be touching the heads of the spokes. Also double check you're going for the right hole in the rim for the opposing direction spokes. Go one too far round and it'll look correct but it won't reach.

 

[Johnsqual]

Hello,

Thanks for all the replies: I think my mistake was getting the wrong
hole on the opposite side of the hub to the first spoke. I moved the first
spoke on the non-drive side one hole over and it all works fine now (this time at least).

Probably an embarassing beginner's mistake but sorted it thanks to your
comments and a bit of industrial strenght swearing on my part...

Cheers,

Johnny

 

[Lazarus]

Welcome to the wheel building beginners club Nice to hear you got there and stuck with it. I only re-started building wheels again 2 years back (had done it before 25years earlier) and surprised myself in that getting old had clouded my once clear mind, and frustrated the hell out of me as I forgot time & again where I was upto in the build.

Back to normal now, prep,prep, & final prep ... then build

Once you get a "good" set done, you'll feel better, then whap out another set, just to make sure its in your mind TIP never get your spokes mixed up on rears ie: DS - NDS, just 1 spoke out and you can start again. Just recently I had a bastard spoke in my newly bought ones and missed it (was watching telly at the time). Used your trusty friend far too much that night as I started to tighten " Quote - and a bit of industrial strength swearing on my part " and the wheel pulled all over the place as this 1 spoke 2mm shorter than all the others overtightened. 36 spokes to choose from.

I just rely on the count, until the final straightening. TIP 2: the count is all you need if the spokes are ALL the correct length. Don't lose count, and the wheel will stay straight, no flat spots, no high spots, no buckles. Finish with a some tweaks for perfection Later John, yours Laz.

PS: it was your " and a bit of industrial strenght swearing on my part " that mad me laugh and caught my eye