I am working on my 1st build and have most of my guides wrapped and aligned as best I can. I'm building a casting rod and using #4 running guides so difficult to sight down rod with my 50 year old eyes. I was thinking about just throwing a reel with line onto rod/guides and using that for final adjustments before placing finish. Any other tips/tricks from builders to get guide alignment as straight as possible before applying finish?

Thanks.

Kevin,
You are right. Aligning #4 guides takes a bit.

The idea of put ting some bright florescent solar green line on a reel is a good on

Then, use very bright light, a white wall or ceiling to aid in sighting down the rod.

The very bright solar line can really aid in your final rotary alignment. It won's necessarily help with the back and forth alignment, but it actually does, since it is so much easier to see a bright heavy solar line as you view the overall guide setup for smooth flow and a nice perfect distribution of the line with respect to the loaded rod. i.e. you thread the line through the guides, and then turn the rod upside down so that the line that you secure near the floor. With the line secure, and the rod upside down, flex the rod to a near 90 degree point. Then, hold the rod in this position as you look over the loaded rod and check to verify that you have equal line away from the rod blank. If not, cut the guide off and rewrap it in a different position. Continue checking and cutting off guides until you are left with guides that are in the correct position and correctly aligned. Then, reposition the guides in question tape them in place and wrap them.

Then, repeat the loaded stress test with the line threaded through the guides.

Take care

A paper plate or white printer paper on the wall is good start eye them looking at the plate in good light what i have done is look at the guides with the back side of the rod up guides on the underside twist the back side of the blank and get the guides to be cut in half from the blank and have the blank block them at the rings be at six oclock and twelve oclock and sight them in it works for me at 64.8 almost 65 but in order for me to learn i will and must share to all i am not the pro but just ideas and it is a good hobby to do

After I align the guides by eye (82 year old eyes), I go outside and eyeball it and I go inside and eyeball it then I ask someone to check my work, usually my wife, kids, neighbor or anyone who may be near by.

I make any adjustments necessary and go on my way. The rod always ends up with guides aligned.