a few people, including myself, were asking for tutorials on spoke adjusting, truing, and wheel building…some looking around led me to this site:
it’s an AWESOME tutorial with everything you ever wanted to know about wheelbuilding. and his main site (sheldonbrown.com) also has a bunch of great info on bikes and stuffs.
There really isn’t much to add to Sheldon’s excellent site… it’s really all you need to know… but…
I have had some success with treating the threads with blue Loc-tite (242® Threadlocker Medium Strength) before screwing on the nipples. The Loc-tite is workable at room temp. for at least an hour when using stainless steel spokes (see data sheet for details), so you don’t have to rush to finish your build. The end result is that the nipples don’t loosen on their own accord… although the Loc-tite will become ineffective after future spoke adjustments.
If you wish to “fix” your nipples after several ride / adjust / ride / adjust cycles, use a wicking threadlocker such as Loc-tite’s 290 Threadlocker Wicking Grade. Put a drop or two (less is more, here!) on the top of each nipple and the solution will work it’s way into the threads, giving you a lock that is comparable to the blue Loc-tite mentioned above.
I´m using that tutorial right now to build up my wheel again with a new rim.
It´s really great and easy to understand. The only bad thing is that I´ve lost a spoke and can´t find it 
The tutorial are great. My experience building the wheel was a good one. I feel lucky that I got the spokes laced correctly only having to backtrack (unlaced/re laced) about 12 spokes once. My biggest problem was getting the nerve to tighten the spokes enough. I could tell they weren’t tight enough when I rode and the crown of the rode effected my riding a great deal. It took me a while to work up to it but I did eventually get the spokes good and tight. I’m looking forward to catching up with another Coker, to pluck those spokes to feel how tight they are.
I noticed that my rim widens slightly at the weld point. Just enough to have me adjusting that point of the wheel back and forth, before I realized the rim is wider.
The only special tools I used was the correct park spoke wrench. I trued the wheel in the unicycle fork. Of course it would have helped to have a spoke tension tool, but still wouldn’t spend the money for one since I would use it so seldom.
A helpful hint found at some other tutorial, while lacing the wheel, screw a nipple backward* onto a unused spoke, then use that spoke to insert the nipple into the rim, onto the spoke that is laced. (* backward: opposite end of nipple, Not cross threaded.)
I’ve always wanted to learn how to build a wheel. Good post.
I’m interested in how the slope of the road affected your ride. I have noticed a couple of things on my coker and on my muni. Although haven’t ridden my muni in awhile.
When on the road it feels as though I have to adjust myself b/c my uni is leaning to the ride when the slope of the road declines to the right.
Also, not having to do with the road. I notice that I ride, while my arms are in T position, with my right arm really backwards, to the point where it might as well be pointing behind me at times. I have corrected this a bit with slow exercises but it seems that as I go straight, my left arm is more out front and my right arm is facing more back. What’s with this and how to correct it?