Absolute Rotate [plug-in] (Updated: 2014/Aug/06)

[puzzledpaul]

Looking at the above graphics, one suggestion I'd make for anyone creating tuts etc is to polarise* the objects in some way, so that the viewer can immediately see which elements are being aligned.
For objects like cylinders, just extruding a single (side) face is often enough ... this also (imo) makes the op seem more 'realistic', as I wonder why - in AA's gaphics - anyone would want to rotate a (plain, unmodified) cylinder thro some angle to end up with what they started with

... but, then again, I'm just an awkward ... (insert suitable description of your choice )

pp

* also making appropriate edges hard and therefore a different colour can easily aid differentiation of appropriate elements,as can colouring (individual) faces (as per M's eg) - imo.

having immediately identifiable visual references also tends to help reduce the text needed to identify stuff ... bringing us back to the old adage about pics being worth some number of words (maybe changed thro' inflation?)