I just finished my first rod. Turned out very nice and my guides are very straight, but I had to work really hard checking and tweaking and checking and tweaking, and sometimes undoing thread because I couldn’t move the guide underneath it with my fingers. How do you guys get your guides straight?
 

Is it likely that I put too much tension on the thread? Should I be able to move the guides easily? Or with firm pressure 

 

I had everything lined up with tubing, but when I would wrap them, the foot would start to drag a little more with each wrap in the wrong direction and then I would have to fix it. 

 

are there different methods of starting and finishing a guide or just the basic one that everybody uses on YouTube? 

thanks. 

 

 

The tension I use allows tweaking the alignment a little with firm pressure.

 

Before wrapping I check alignment by running down the blank back and forth between guides feeling with my first finger and thumb.  Believe it or not, you can detect some out of alignment by feel and have them very close when you are done winding.  I have never found anything that's better for final alignment than the human eye. I don't think I have ever had to "unwrap" a guide to fix alignment.  I have never noticed a guide changing alignment during the wrap.  Make sure you are not bumping it with fingers or by other means.  

 

There are many methods used, and you will with experience find the one you work best with.  But tension should be such that they can be moved, but not easily, and if done right, you won't be moving them much.  Often when I move them I don't even feel any movement, but when I look, they moved a little.

Thank you 

This is a method I've come to refine over the years.

First I will put a small dot where the guides will go.
Then I will use the FlexCoat guide adhesive and align the first butt guide to align with the reel seat.

I put the guide foot on the dot so I dont have to remove it.

I will then eye ball the guide weather its centered or not.
I first eyeball the guide on the wrapper looking down on the guide from above.
I will then eyeball the guided looking down the blank. Its' way better to be looking out a window or against a white wall. I find it really works well to hold the blank at an angle so you see the blank in the ring of each guide. If its not centered I may remove it and redo it. The guide foot adhesive come off real easy and you just need to reheat the foot. Sometime i just leave it an move it after I wrap it.

I will then wrap that guided.

...then on to the next guide.

I cut the reel foot and stem off a old plastic spinning reel and glued a small bubble level to it. It's definitely not perfect but passes the eyeball test and allows me to find the same "up" on my blank when wrapping. I usually center a guide before, halfway, and when finished wrapping. After they are all on I look down the blank for final adjustments. 

Just remember this is all for looks it will not improve performance if you are a little off. All blanks are not arrow straight, if need be, I align the guides to a straight line not following the blank imperfections.

I've used a couple of methods that have worked well.

One is a lazer stud finder placed on the reel seat pointed at the tip guide. once that is in perfect allingment, I'd wrap the guides and replace the lazer . the red line of the lazer should pass over the center of each guide.

The other is to tape a long piece of hi-viz line to the center of the reel seat. Run the line through the guides and add tension to the end. Looking down the blank from above, you'll easily see any guide that is off center.