I'm so glad things worked out for you! And that they are sending you the gauge for free. My Scout came with a free metal jig when it was new. I had a very bad experience with VPI, I sent my 16.5 cleaning machine back for repair and never got it back! Long story. ANyway, the paper jig they included may not be good, but there is certainly nothing wrong with a good paper jig!
I did my reading and studied up on tonearm alignment, and anyone with a metric ruler and an exacto knife and a 1/4 inch hole punch can make your own template that is every bit as exact as any metal or plastic or glass template made. There are several alignments to be had. It slips my mind, but they are centered differently, as to where the two points are where the arm is parallel to the spindle. I took card stock and a metric ruler and made my own template that was exact to the width of a razor blade, and tried different alignments, I've still got them pressed in a book around here somewhere. But if you Google "Tonearm Alignment", it will give you a wealth of information on the subject. I mentioned making my own templates on Micheal Fremer's forum and was completely ostracized! There is no magic to aligning a tonearm, the only thing about a metal or plastic template is that it's a bit more robust, and takes up more storage space. I do like the ones with a mirror under the needle, that makes squaring up the cantilever a bit easier to see.
