Optical fiber splicing that uses a capillary tube, of suitable material, to align the mating fibers. Note: The capillary tube has an inside diameter slightly larger than the cladding diameter of the two optical fibers to be spliced. The fibers are inserted, one from either end, to form a butt joint. The capillary tube may contain an index-matching gel, or the fibers may be secured with an adhesive having a refractive index that approximates that of the fibers.