As I get older and my eyes aren't as sharp, I sometimes have trouble with guide alignment. I would like to hear from others on their alignment methods. Even before i put on the epoxy and I think all is well I sometimes find some that are off, by then it is too late. I have experimented with a laser but its not foolproof.

Ed,
One thing that might be helpful for you, Is that after you think that all the guides are aligned. Set the rod down and find something else to do. Then later on come back and look down the guides again. Majority of the time when i do this method, i find a guide that needs a little adjustment.

I hold the rod vertical with the guides facing away from me and look that way. Gives me a different perspective and more often than not can pick out crooked or off-center guides better that way.

What Eric said. However that being said, that might not completely work with Micros.

I have been known to have a crooked eye myself so I always worry when aligning my guides before finish as well. I have tried the laser method, I have tried the perspective Eric mentioned as well as the exact opposite method where I hold the rod vertical and check alignment. Lately however I think that the tool described in one of the recent RodMaker magazines. It is used to draw a line on the center of any long round object, even a tapered one. I figure that should help a lot in the initial and final alignment process, especially if you use a wax pencil as the line wipes off extremely easily. Good luck.
James

If you can get them on straight before you wrap it really helps. I made this little tool and it really saved me some time and tweaking guides after wrapping. I seldom have to move a guide now. May have to tweak 1 maybe 2 guides when using this little tool. I wrap by hand, no motorized wrapper, so this is really helpful if you hand wrap.
[www.rodbuilding.org]

J.B.Hunt
Bowling Green, KY

Ed,
I think Chris has about the best idea.
Put the guides on and get them wrapped and aligned.

Then, put the rod down and come back some time later.

Then, pick up the rod and do a quick scan without being overly critical. It is important to take a quick snapshot of the guides with a quick look before starting to stare hard down the blank. Generally, your first impressions are right on.

If you pick up the rod, sight down the rod and see that they are in line - that is likely correct. On the other hand, if you take a quick look down the rod and something seems off - that is also likely. Then, you want to bear down and figure out which guide is off and by how much.

During this process, I will sight down both the top side of the rod as well as the bottom side of the guides. I will also slightly rotate the rod from side to side while sighting down the rod. If the rods are perfectly aligned, as you sight down the off side of the guides, you will see all of the guides pop into view as you slightly rotate the guides in one direction. Then, the same thing is true if you slightly rotate the rod in the opposite direction - i.e. all of the guides should pop into sight at the same time.

Take care
Roger

p.s.

Absolutely important - be sure to double or triple check your guides as the final step before laying the rod down on the stand to apply finish.

I have made mistakes with several rods over the years, where I have taken a batch of rods, aligned all of the guides, and then took the rods, one after another and applied finish. Much to my suprise on a couple of these rods over the years, I have found that there has been one or more guide knocked out of alignment. This can happen during the course of rod movement from stand to storage, or back.
It can even happen when you are applying finish. Just do a final check before applying finish.

Another good thing to do, is to stop your dryer about the time that the finish is nearly tack free and triple check the guide alignment one more time. If - on the rare chance that something got bumped so that a guide is out of alignment, a bit of heat on the finish will soften it enough so that you can tweak the guide enough to line it up without ruining the finish.

I work in eyecare as well as make rods from time to time. Since you mentioned your eyes, a dr. may be able to prescribe lenses to sharpen things up.

It helps me to try to line up each guide with the tip top as the reference point. I find that if I line up a guide, based on the guides before and after it, my alignment tends to "creep".

George Forster
Fort Collins, CO

Ed

Here's the way I do it. I have a section of my rodbuild area wall painted white, and I have the wall well lighted. I first hold the butt end of the rod (spinning rod) up near my face. With one eye I sight down the rod looking over the guides (not through the rings) with the guides facing up, pointing the tip of the rod toward the white wall. I note which guides I think need a little tweak. Then I turn the guides down, and holding the rod about wasit high and still pointing at the wall I sight down over the top of the rod to determine if the same amount of each guide is showing on either side of the rod blank. If the same guides seem to need tweaking I adjust them a little. I take my time and repeat this process several times until I'm satisfied with the alignment. The white painted wall and bright lighting on the wall seem to help me!

Rog

Ed,

I almost forgot. I also cut off the "head" of an old spinning reel, leaving the reel foot and an inch or so of the shaft. I painted a thin light colored line in the middle of the back side of the shaft. Mount this reel foot in the reel seat and use it as a gun sight to help alignment.

Rog

That is a great idea Roger! I alway put a china marker line on the handle and use that to "sight" down the blank but always find that I have to adjust my view point to a point higher. I am going to have to look for a garage sale reel and hack it up. Thanks for the tip!