Hold on, let me push back on this a little. Marking up the whole set before it goes out, that sounds like a lot of extra time he's billing that fabricator for. I've seen cases where a detailer is so proud of catching every little thing that he's basically re-engineering the whole set, which just adds weeks to the schedule. Sometimes a field weld is fine, it just means the ironworker spends an extra 15 minutes with a stick welder instead of the shop doing it. If Dave spent his whole career in Kansas City, he might just be used to a certain regional practice and not know the national standards cold.

and honestly that's fair if you're just building for yourself or doing one set of wheels. but the thing is most people aren't that good at ear tuning. i know i wasn't. the tensiometer just takes the guesswork out of it. especially with modern rims that are way more finicky than old box section stuff. you can definitely get by without one, but for me it's peace of mind. my wheels stay round longer and i don't have to keep chasing loose spokes.

Yeah @stellablack has a point, read a review that showed the X pattern spreads more evenly than a pea.

Calling it just flour and water misses the point though. Yeah, the science says the microbes are basically the same after a few feedings, but the flavor comes from the specific yeast and bacteria that develop over time in that particular environment. A week-old starter isn't going to have the same depth as one that's been living in the same kitchen for decades, absorbing all those local airborne particles. It's not magic, it's just that the microbial community gets more complex and stable the longer it's around. You can taste the difference if you do a side by side, trust me.

dude it's a wall, not a life or death decision, just grab something.