Hi guys how do you work lazer level for guide
Alignment have never used can able to tell
Me how to use it thanks

The idea is that you first mount the level on the reel seat and then mount guides on the blank where the laser light bisects the guide. Sounds simple, right? Problem is that not all, and in fact few blanks are laser light straight to begin with. And if a rod lathe is used to to hold the blank straight the lathe's blank support arms will more than likely block the laser.

Save yourself some $s. Learn the other, lower tech, techniques to align guides. Any alignment errors using non-laser techniques will be so small as to be of no concern.

Donald La Mar Wrote:
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> The idea is that you first mount the level on the
> reel seat and then mount guides on the blank where
> the laser light bisects the guide. Sounds simple,
> right? Problem is that not all, and in fact few
> blanks are laser light straight to begin with.
> And if a rod lathe is used to to hold the blank
> straight the lathe's blank support arms will more
> than likely block the laser.
>
> Save yourself some $s. Learn thep other, lower
> tech, techniques to align guides. Any alignment
> errors using non-laser techniques will be so small
> as to be of no concern.
Thanks pal

Watch the factory production vids from Seeker, they show how most of us do the job. I put on a reel and use it to align the first guide to the reel, than put the other guides on the rod. I now flip the rod over and use the blank as an alignment tool comparing the amounts of guide frame sticking out past the blank, I than wrap the rod and do any minor alignment afterwards before I put on finish by just looking down the guides and tweeking them as needed. As mentioned before this is not a gun barrel, what you end up with will straighter than it has to be to get maximum performance.

it,s amazing how wacked out of line taped on guides have to get before you notice much of a drop off in rod performance

Paul,
The best thing to use a laser level is to insure that the fondation on your new home is level, to insure that your newly installed stove is level, to insure that all of the pictures that you hang are level.

For fishing rod guides, not so much. Simply put, blanks are never perfectly straight, and when weight - like guides are put on them, they are now more less level simply from the weight deflection.

There are better and more efficient ways to insure that your guides are aligned.

Good luck

I flip the rod over , remove the spool of the reel i intend to use with the rod and mount the reel on the rod in an upside down position . I then run a taught line from the spool axle to the top of the choke guide first and look to see if each guide lines up perfectly center of the line . I then run a second line from the top of the choke guide to the tip top to see if each running guide is exactly in the middle of that line .

Lastly i just run a line from the spool axle right to the tip top and take one last look , works well for me. I use a level attached to an old reel seat to make certain the blank is perfectly level and not off to one side or the other before i start of course.

The eye test is plenty good enough for most people .

As I only build fly rods, and today they are virtually all multi-piece, I find it preferable to mount the guides a section at a time. Thus I only have to line up the guides (2 to 5 guides) on that one section, rather than the entire length of the rod. After finishing all sections, I assemble the rod, line up each section so that all the guides are in line, then mark each section with line-up dots, for future user assembly.

In lining up the guides on the individual sections, I first mount them on top then rotate the section so that the guides are below and use the section itself as a "straight-edge" check for any adjustments before applying epoxy to the warps.

The old tried and true "EYE BALL" method. Works every time and it is inexpensive.

John

I'm with John D. on this one But, if you have a problem and can't see straight then just tie a piece of mason cord to your tip/top and bring it back to the center of your reel seat and that's the line to follow. Can't get any simpler than that.

Dennis J. Danku
(Sayreville,NJ)

I find that it works best if the rod is aimed toward a white wall in bright light to make it easy to see the guide.
First sight down the rod on the ring side of the guides and align as needed.
Then, flip the rod over and sight down the non guide side of the rod/. When you do this, some of the smaller guides will disappear under the blank. Rotate the blank back and forth to see the edge of the guide peeking out from the side. Insure that you get equal rotation on both rotations and your guides will be perfect.

Coarse adjustment sighting down the guide side of the blank.
Final adjustment and double check sighting down the non guide side of the blank.

Good luck

I cut the foot off an old reel, painted bright red, put a strip of bright gold mylar tape down the middle of the leg then mount the device in the reel seat of the rod. I can then site each guide so the mylar strip bisects each guide ring in the center. It's the eyeball method with help. The simple plastic device from Mudhole is too dark to see and the little silver dot cannot be seen when trying to align.

Ray Zarychta
Glastonbury, CT

roger wilson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I find that it works best if the rod is aimed
> toward a white wall in bright light to make it
> easy to see the guide.
> First sight down the rod on the ring side of the
> guides and align as needed.
> Then, flip the rod over and sight down the non
> guide side of the rod/. When you do this, some of
> the smaller guides will disappear under the blank.
> Rotate the blank back and forth to see the edge
> of the guide peeking out from the side. Insure
> that you get equal rotation on both rotations and
> your guides will be perfect.
>
> Coarse adjustment sighting down the guide side of
> the blank.
> Final adjustment and double check sighting down
> the non guide side of the blank.
>
> Good luck

I do the same works well. You can also do it outside with the sky as background. Do this after you have wrapped them and right before epoxy.

I do find the laser alignment tool somewhat useful to align the stripper guide. I'll use tape or guide foot adhesive for the initial layout, then use a combination of the laser tool and the reel to help get the stripper on straight. All that really does is give you a starting point for the rest of the guides though. The guys saying learn the old way are correct, there is no silver bullet for guide alignment.

Actually what a laser does best is show off how crooked many blanks are....