aloysius

Is there a trick to aligning a stem (a quil in my case) with it's fork? I've been eyeballing it, but I never seem to set it just so; it's always off a smidge one way or the other. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Dave Moulton

Palce a small square on the front edge of the handlebars and sight the 90 degree edge with the edge of the tire by closing one eye and looking from above.

Soil_Sampler

a plumb bob and a level, or angle finder.

geraldatwork

I do it by eye as I also line up my seat.

aloysius

Thanks for the tips. Dave: I've seen your frames -- they're very nice! I considered buying one on ebay before the bidding carried it beyond my means.
Thanks Again.

roadfix

I sometimes use the tiles on my driveway as a guide.

urbanknight

Interestingly enough, I can usually see the smallest variances in my saddle and stem alignment while the bike is sitting on the roof rack of my car.

MudPie

I tape-measure the distance between a feature along the centerline of the stem (like the clamping bolt) to symetrical features on the fork, like the top of the left and right dropouts. Of course, this assume symmetric components.

waterrockets 

I sight down the stem to the tire with one eye. I get my eye positioned so the tire looks centered in the hub flanges, then the stem needs to be centered on the tire at the same time. Also works with saddle, centering top tube on BB shell, and saddle nose on top tube.

urbanknight

I imagine this would be one of the more accurate methods, maybe even as accurate as any slight variance in the fork!

top506

Mk1 MOD1 eyeball.
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atomsuite

I eyeball it. Best trick to eyeballing it is to make sure and turn the wheel/bars to the left or right so that the tob tube doesn't fool your eyes when you align it up. This way you're only looking at the stem and the wheel.