Building a Linux Distro?

IBM seems to have a good beginning article building a distribution. I’ve never done much more then recompiling a kernel so that’s as much as I can help with.

Check out Linux from Scratch.

Installing Gentoo is pretty much like building your own, but if you really want to get into the nitty gritty, you should try and compile your own kernel (download a build from www.kernel.org), and customize your kernel config file. You can adjust power/clock settings, etc. and remove all sorts of unnecessary modules and install ones suited to your needs (fglrx, for example, if you have an ATI video card and want 3d, I think). This will be particularly useful if you’re on a laptop and want to configure Linux to use the least possible battery power.

For building on Ubuntu you might like Reconstructor or UCK.