With the subject of wheelbuilding comes the inevitable mention of Jobst's book but I'm surprised nobody mentions Gerd Schraner's The Art of Wheelbuilding: A Bench Reference for Neophytes, Pros & Wheelaholics. To me, Gerd comes closer to what wheel building--at least in a CR sense--is all about.
I first met Gerd when he brought a Swiss team over to the US in the early 80's. He's a big belt buckle fan so we got him a Campy 50th Anniversary buckle set at cost (no easy feat even for us Campagnolo USA employees). His pedigree includes lots of competition wheels including 6 Day racing wheels which include the tie and soldering that is being debated hotly.
Check the book, it's fun reading, out even if you don't build your own wheels.
Brook Watts Longmont Colo
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>The debates about how to lace a wheel, remind me of the "Big Endian"
>and "Little Endian" schism in Guliver's Travels, wherein simple
>personal preference is raised to the level of theology. I built my
>first wheels following the procedures set out in Jobst Brandt's The
>Bicycle Wheel, and have continued to do so because it works just
>fine. But Bob Lickton, who scoffs at Brandt, built me a very fine
>set on wheels with the rear wheel spoke heads on the "wrong" side of
>the flange according to Brandt. Lots of variations work fine as
>long as the spokes are correctly tensioned. Different strokes for
>different folks.
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>Regards,
>
>Jerry Moos
>Houston, TX