Tip 4: how to extend your spokes

As I pointed out in my previous tip, I used bicycle spokes in the end with the following specs:
- length: 215 mm
- material: stainless steel
- 11G (2.9mm diameter)
I paid about 65€ for 100 spokes.

But now comes the trick: I needed spokes of about 650mm and thus needed to lengthen the bicycle spokes...! So, back on the net to search for a solution. It was actually Joff Summerfield who gave me the idea to use a kind of a long nut to make a connection between the original bicycle spoke and the spoke extension. After a search on the web, I decided to use PCB spacers. These are normally used to keep electronic components and board at a distance from each other.
I bought about 100 of these things in a Hong-Kong ebay shop for about 20€

They have a length of 30mm and have M3 thread inside. They are made out of brass.
It took me some time to cut every spoke and spoke extension with M3 thread, but the effort was worth it: like I said, I've had no more spoke trouble since I changed my spoke configuration like this.