Rosa & I built a couple bike wheels recently. Though I've built up a few different (single speed and fixed gear) franken-bikes from flotsam and jetsam, these were my first wheels. It was a fun project. Simple, elemental craft. Basic technology practiced similarly for many thousands of years. In my younger days, I would have studiously devoured Sheldon Brown and Jobst Brandt. In my softened middle years, I instead had some Acme IPA and a quick look at some you tube videos and went to it. The results were great though not without some bumps (one wheel had to be torn apart and re-laced with a little more attention to the job and a little less attention to the beer).