Mike Kone concluded Anyway, have fun! In reality you can build wheels all sorts of ways and have great results. Look at all my babbling on this and I'm just one opinion.
I'll carry on babbling and say in all the years I have been building wheels , testing the tension is something that experience will teach one by the feel of the spokes as the building and final stressing progresses. Its difficult to explain as every individual works differently but if the spokes are evenly tightened the job should be satisfactory. I never used a tension tool and would'nt know one if I saw one!. I ca'nt remember having a newly built wheel of my own or anybodys giving any trouble other than perhaps on occasions some minor remedial work required but never the fault of the initial incorrect tensioning. My policy has always been , I ca'nt teach anyone the proper way to build a wheel but I'll show them the way I was taught and have continued to do so over the years. Wheel building at times can be frustrating at times but in the main it gives one a great deal of satisfaction.
Doug Smith
North Dorset
UK