Beside eyeballing, does anyone have a method of aligning guides after they have been wrapped?

Click on SERACH at the top of the message list, type in guide align, select ALL Dates and you will get 25 pages of post with the info you are looking for

[www.rodbuilding.org]

Mike

Somewhere I had seen where the rodbuilder had taken the rod with the reeel in place then laid rod along the taple so that the center of the reel laid at edge of table then lined up the guides from there. Havent tried it yet my self and when I had seen your post thought I would throw that out there for more responses.

Alan, You are thinking of guide location not alignment. Guide location for Spinning out fits can be found in the library section and has pictures of what you are refering to. Guide alignment can be done in any number of ways but the easiest is by sight.

A true line ... by: Bill Cohen ... Nov. 28, 2005 09:25AM [www.rodbuilding.org]
Ive been thinking of ways to line up the guides .I find I'm fiddling around with the guides too much making adjustments then going back and changing it around.I finely get it right but its an agonizing process. I'm thinking of a lazer for that perfect fix. What kind do you have and whats the alternatives ? Did the search and was hoping someone had more to offer. -Bill Cohen.

Re: A true line ... Cliff Hall ... Nov. 28, 2005 11:13AM
[www.rodbuilding.org]
To align your line guides in the plane of symmetry of the rod blank; to align the face of the guide ring at a right angle to the line (long axis) of the rod blank: and to keep your guide feet in-line with the rod blank, employ BOTH these [following] methods of alignment: ... [etc] -Cliff Hall .

LOTS of other useful comments on ALIGNMENT (but not on guide SPACING) in this recent and well-rounded Thread, ... IMO, -Cliff Hall+++ Merry Christmas

I had read on here a long while back that someone had taken an old spinning reel and cut the "Top" part off leaving the reel foot and half of the stem. He then sharpened it to a point and used it like a gun sight. I tried it and it worked fine. I eventually just went back to the ole "MK I Eyeball" though. Too lazy to find the gun sight.

I use this method and it's killer!! Picked it up off here. Take the tip section of a 2 piece fly rod that has been stripped of guides then run that up through the guides and tip, align with the rod blank your using then adjust your guides. They'll be straight if your rod blank was straight

Bill in WV

I would guess there are as many ways of aligning guides as there are rodbuilders but after experimenting with a number of ways I have found this works for me. After determining and marking the guide placement I mount an old reel on the rod. Then I use a length of cord ( the kind used by carpenters to pull straight lines) with a small weight attached to one end. After glueing on and aligning the tip top by eye I thread the cord through the tip top and all the guides in their proper order and attach to the reel in the middle of course.Then it is just a matter of positioning the guides on the marks and taping them down insuring the line is in the middle of the guide. Don't know if this will help but it sure works for me. gregg

I take and put a reel in the reel seat and set it in the wrapping jig so that the weight of the reel keeps the rod in a position so that the guides should be vertical. Then I look at the rod from straight above it and make sure the the rod is visibly in the middle of the guides, if you are not perfectly in line you are very, very close.