Is there a foolproof, no nonsense guide or tips for getting a front mech to work without any chain rub on any of the extremes.

which extremes? You should be able to get the full spread of the cassette in middle ring but not in granny or large – the rubbing reminds you that you shouldn’t be using the ratios that really articulate the chain.

Practice.

I bloody hate setting up front mechs. It is doable but it just takes forever. My method (and I have no idea if this is the right way of doing it) is as follows for a triple:
1. With the chain off set the clamp height by pushing the mech across to the big by hand and set the height so the cage is a mill or 2 over the big ring.
2. Put the chain back on in the big cog at the back and small at the front.
3. Set the inner limit screw so the the chain is missing the inner edge of the cage by a tiny, tiny amount.
4. Put the cable in and pull it as tight as you can with a pair of plyers. Add a turn of the barrell adjuster to make sure there is no slack at all.
5. Shift up the the big ring and small cog and adjust the out limit screw so that the chain won’t jump off the ring to the outside.
6. Hope it works ok. If it doesn’t, swear and play with the limit screws and the cable tension.

Here’s how I do it:

Height: With the chain off, set it so it misses the big ring by 2mm or so, and make sure it’s straight.
Then screw the L screw right in, and the H screw out a lot. Fit the chain with the chain on the middle ring.
Now, while turning the cranks, with the rear mech in the middle of the cassette, unscrew the L screw until the chain drops onto the bottom ring – unscrew another half turn for luck.
On the shifter, unscrew the barrel adjuster 2-3 turns, fit the cable and pull as tight as possible before clamping into the mech.
Shift through the gears, adjusting the barrel adjuster as necessary to get it spot on.
Put it on the top gear at the back (smallest cog) and big ring, and screw the H screw in until it hits the mech stop (the mech moves a bit).

Done 😉

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/tech_support/tech_tips.download.-Par50rparsys-0018-downloadFile.html/12)%20Front%20Derailleur%20Installation.pdf

biggest help is jamming something (eg the little tab that they come with new) into the mechanism to jam them out so you can set the height and angle easily. After then it is plain sailing.

Sorry for the late reply and thanks you everyone.
Like the shimano link, only works if it a new mech, which is great.

My problem is trying to fix a mates bike in the woods, he has no clue, a crap set of tools and a hangover.

Don’t say lbs, they had no clue either.

Find a better LBS, then 🙂

if you are starting with a well worn mech with sloppy pivots…. give up and buy a new one.

We thought this was a good lbs and it was not marshalls!