Wheel building - how to tighten spokes to have perfectly equal tension
Don’t obsess over it. Perfect is the enemy of good enough.
Something like ±10% spoke tension deviation is perfectly fine. For lateral and radial truing about ±0.5mm is fine. With lower quality (or damaged) components it will be harder/impossible. On the front wheel you have more margin since it’s symmetrical, has less spoke tension and is less prone to broken spokes. On the rear wheel asymmetrical rims can help because then you need less tension on the drive side and can put more on the non-drive side. Again giving you more margin (and/or a stronger wheel).
Experience and a methodical approach will help you get there faster. For example when you find an area which is laterally out of true you shouldn’t only loosen or slacken one spoke but work on both sides (i.e. loose one side by half a turn, tighten the other by half a turn) and include the neighboring spokes as well. Be aware of spoke wind-up and account for it (easier with bladed spokes). Stress relieve early.
On my first wheel some nipples broke prematurely. I suspect that turning them countless times abraded and damaged them. Now I always use grease on the nipples (where they contact the rim) and try to get it done in as little turns as possible.