I built those wheels on rock and roll

Yes, to the sounds of the Pet Shop Boys, the Pixies, Peter Tosh, Pedro the Lion, and some other stuff under "P" on iTunes. Wheel-building is an art. You gotta practice.

Rims: I picked up supplies at Rose Bike Shop in Orono, ME. Some old double wall rims that were on closeout. Jim sold them for 5 bucks a piece! sweet! Best deal yet, considering what I paid for the frame and hub set. Spokes and brass nipples and it was a go. Here's the specs for a cross 3 pattern:

Front Hub
flange diameter 62mm
hub center to hub flange center 33mm
spoke number 32
effective rim diameter (ERD) 610
SPOKE LENGTH: 294

Rear Hub
flange diameter 62mm
hub center to hub flange center 28mm
ERD 601
SPOKE LENGTH: 290

So, I picked up 32 x 1.8mm spokes of each size and the corresponding brass nipples, laced 'em and trued 'em. Ghetto DIY truing "stand" using zip ties on the fork and seat stays was a great start. Heck, it's starting to look like a bike.

The Frame

Wow, I got so lucky. I recently was introduced to the late great Sheldon Brown, bicycle guru and really neat guy. Upon entering Bikes Not Bombs in Jamaica Plain, MA, I was handed an old Raleigh Lenton frame and Isabella said "this was Sheldon Brown's frame. he donated it to us." A size 23" it was the perfect fit for me. I was ecstatic! I spent another two hours in the shop checking out old used pedals, stems, hubs, and Mexican chocolate. I strapped the frame to the back of my Cold Cold World Chernobyl Mountaineering pack (great for the city too!) and headed down Green Street to the Orange line. After all, it was a long 4.5 hour bus ride back to Orono, ME, where I currently reside.

In the hotel room that nite, I started filing the dropouts. They needed another 2mm or so for the new flip/flop hub. The fork dropouts needed filing as well, but I was stopped in my tracks by a security guard knocking on the door at 11:30pm asking what I was "sawing" in my room. I showed him the frame and scattered other stuff on the floor. He believed me that I was just working on the bike (not bombs) and asked if I would cease as the folks below me were "going crazy." I wasn't quite sure if he meant they're having crazy sex or were losing it over the filing I was doing. "Hey man I gotta get these hollow bolts to fit the old Raleigh." He wasn't amused.