I seems that I am always building fly rods with single foot guides and having a difficult time with the temporary guide attachment. I have tried several techniques but am currently having the best success with hot glue applied with a glue gun. I am careful to clean up excess glue around the foot, but there is always some excess under the "tunnel". Will this weaken the epoxy bond? What are some of the sucessful temporary attachments used by others?

I use surgical tubing available from Mudhole and others. It comes in various sizes.

I've used tape for the longest time. Fairly recently I started using the tubing, which I have grown to love. But on the really thin stuff, I still use tape strips. I've never gotten the hang of using glue. It dries too fast on me, and I have never liked the feel of moving the guide once it dries. It just feels like the guide is always resting crooked on a wad of dried, rubbery glue.

rubberbands from teeth braces. Very small and easy to use.

It may not be true "surgical" tubing, but I use the type of tubing found in hobby shops that carry RC models, the tubing is used to carry the RC model fuel to the engine and comes in various diameters. I generally buy several diameters in three foot sections and slice them into small donuts with a widget (single edge razor blade in a holder). Then slide the appropriate size down the rod to the beginning guide placement, put a few more than needed in case you break a few or might need a little more support for a few guides. Once the guide is wrapped sufficiently I then slice off the band from the blank upward using a #11 XACTO knife blade.

Small strips of tape. The trick is to apply the tape to the guide foot, then lower the guide to the blank and press the tape to the sides of the blank. Too many builders try to put the guide on the blank and then try to wrap tape around both. That's too hard and cumbersome.

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Also, with that thin strip of tape, fold it back on itself at both ends, so you have non-sticky handles so you can remove it easily at the right moment.

I'm a big fan of the rivet gun, works every time!

the smallest electrical zip ties i can find. work great on the smallest of guides. cut them off with dikes
when the wrap is five or six wraps up teh guide.

I still use tape at times , but have grown to like the Flex Coat guide foot adheasive for the small SF fly guides . For the bigger stuff like casting and surf guides , I still use masking tape . I like Scotts idea , LOL......... JD

Got Fish ?

I'm with Ray! Can't beat the ease of model/hobby tubing sliced in thin "rubber bands. Just slide them on to the blank and slip the guide feet into them.

Real easy to move guides around for testingMike

I tried Travis' idea (rubber bands used for teeth braces). Worked great! The problem is, I had to use a whole spool of masking tape to tape my son to a chair so I could get the rubber bands back on his braces after I was done with them.

I use the twist ties that come on a loaf of bread. Just wrap around and twist one time. No tape residue to deal with and nothing to have to roll down the blank. This is the easiet and quickest method I have found to date.

Hello, I'm very new to rod building and to I was looking for a better way to hold the small guides on the rod and have it be user friendly to be able to adjust the guide to line up properly with the others. I know Mud Hole has that surgical tubing. But a light came on and this is what I have started to do. I'll make a long story a little shorter. I use the black rubber O rings that are in the plubing section of a hardware store. In this case here in Eau Claire Wi. It is Menards, I've got them small enough so I can use them down to about the 7th or 8th guide then I go back to using masking tape or guide melt. Wether they are single foot or double foot you just roll the rubber ring over the guide foot and adjust your guide to the properalignment and start your wrap. On double foot guides I have used 2 rings if you want your guide a little more stable. The only draw back is these rubber rings cost 30 to 47 cents and some you have to cut cause of not wanting to stretching them over the guides. Well I hope this helps it's an idea anyway

I use surgical tubing (MudHole and others carry it) and for the really small diameters the RC model gas line tubing. I prefer the gas line tubing for the small guides because it has a large outside diameter and tends to hold better (less elasticity than thin surgical tubing with the same I.D.) - and it's readily available - and it's downright cheap at .30 / foot.