Sometimes I am not very smart

[Wildcat]

I'm going to try dishing my rear wheel without any special tools, just a spoke wrench. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm using this video as a guide, with the wheel on the bike to judge the amount of dish it needs.

 

[Wildcat]

That didn't pan out. The spoke nipples were worn from being used more than a few times and the wrench wouldn't get a good hold. I tried using a screwdriver from the outside, but the spokes protruded through the ends and it wouldn't work either. A pair of pliers broke one. So it'll get done at the shop.

 

[wvoldguy]

My wheel tweaking went about as well as I could possibly hope. The LBS owner suggested I bring my off-center front wheel down for a look. He stuck it on his pro truing stand, then turned around and called for me to come to the back of the workshop. He tweaked a few spokes, made a few suggestions, handed me a spoke wrench, said "start at the stem", then walked away to help other customers. In a very short while I had a centered and wobble-free wheel. Can't beat that kind of customer service. Next I'll be spending my Friday evening lacing my Sturmey-Archer 3-sp hub to the back wheel. Cool.