Opinions on Vega Pro Fence?

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Giving some serious thought to replacing the fence and rails on my R4511 and am looking at the Vega Pro, either 50" or next size down.

Does anyone have any first hand experience with this fence?

Also, any input on adding an extension table to it with router? How hard do you think it would be to attach?

At 50" I'll need support legs, but that's a given. For that matter, may be better off replacing the mobile base entirely and going to one which allows for support of extension legs as well.

Thoughts?

[Neal Clayton]

i have one on my PM66, and prefer it to delta/biesemeyer style fences.

it moves easier on the round rail than square railed fences do, so fine adjustment is easier, imo.

i use it for a router fence as well. i took the aftermarket freud fence and mounted it on the top of the TS fence, and use a pair of cut off aluminum studs in lieu of the particle board faces for the router.

the only issue i can point to is the locking mechanism grips via a thin piece of springy brass, that tends to break after a year or so of every day use. not that big of a deal, they'll send you a new one for a few bucks and the vega people actually answer the phone with english speaking employees so they're not hard to get things from. if you only use it on the weekends, you may never go through one, but i'd call them and order a couple of spares just in case.

other than that i like it better than other fences i've used, and would buy it again.

[Dan Bundy]

I put one on my Craftsman contractor saw several years ago and have loved it. Locks good and solid and the "micro" adjuster on it is very helpful as well. No need to "bump, bump" for small changes.

[Mark Salomon]

I had a Vega on my contractor saw and didn't like it too much. I had trouble keeping it from moving after it was locked down. I finally had to scuff sand the round chrome bar and the brass locking shim. I much prefer the Biesemeyer type.

[bob hertle]

Love mine. Bought it and installed it on my unisaw in the late 80s. Never had a problem with failure to lock as I've heard reported here. Once set parallel to the miter slot, that alignment hasn't had to be touched in over 20 years. I don't use the microadjust feature very often.

Bob

[Matt Day]

I had one on my last saw and liked it a lot. It moves and adjusts easier than my Bies, but the Vega didn't lock quite as solidly as the Bies. I had the U50 I think. The Bies also lends itself to building and table into the saw, and is more of a standard in the industry.

[scott spencer]

Scott - I've had the Biese, Jet Exacta II, and the Vega, and like them all a lot. The microadjustment on the Vega works really nicely. At even money, I prefer the Biese/Exacta II a little better, but for the typical going street prices, I'd take the Vega and would have no regrets.

Have you seen the Pro 40 (http://www.amazon.com/Vega-PRO-40-42-Inch-40-Inch/dp/B000022621/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1264447426&sr=1-4) for $280 shipped at Amazon? It has 40" rip to the right, and 10" to the left. Since your saw is left tilt, I doubt you'll ever need the 10" to the left, so you can slide that 10" to the right, and end up with your 50" rip for a pretty nice price....food for thought.

[Mike Heidrick]

I am going on a factory tour at Vega Wednesday night providing the weather holds out.

[Clint Schlosser]

I bought the 50" model and I believe the instructions have not been updated since the 80's. What I got in the box looked like it was faxed 3 times and was barely legible. The website was non-existent for help installing. In addition the height adjustment screws keep falling out when I use the router table extension.

Basically its an okay fence for the price but I would not buy it again.

[richard poitras]

I had one on a contractors saw (sold the saw) and I really liked it. I would by one again…

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Ok, so the bulk say it's a good quality fence. The only thing I see is that it might not lock down firmly enough, in which case a slightly thicker brass contact pad might help it.

As far as adding a router table extension to it though, how does mounting work out? Anyone?

[Neal Clayton]

it comes with a square rail on the back, but the front rail is round and the cam area takes up about half of that round rail.

so i would not plan on mounting a router table via the fence rails. you'd be much better off mounting it via the extension wing of the saw itself.

[Paul Incognito]

I have one on my old Atlas saw. I like it, but I don't love it. I have no experience with the Biesmeyer so I can't compare.
One thing to keep in mind is that it's not so easy to attach an outfeed table to the back rail. The fence has a little tab that hooks under the rail. I was going to take it off since it seemed to serve no purpose, but the next time I locked the fence down the back lifted off the table a couple inches. I put the tab back on and use a free standing outfeed table.
You can see the tab in the picture.
PI

[Chip Byrd]

I know this is an older thread, but I was wondering if you went with the Vega on the Rigid? I am thinking of doing that.

[Mike Fusick]

I know this is an older thread, but I was wondering if you went with the Vega on the Rigid? I am thinking of doing that.

I don't see why not. Worse case you might need to drill a hole or two.

[Jim Stearns]

Cast iron drills pretty easily, and the Vega fence works great. Dead nuts accurate, especially compared to the original fence on my 50+ year old Craftsman.

[Christopher Morgan]

Cast iron drills pretty easily.

The Rigid 4511 is the one with the granite top, so the retrofit may not be quite so straightforward.

[Tyler Owen]

I just put a Vega Pro 40 on an Inca 2100 saw that I was given that didn't have a fence. I was very happy with installation. If you have any questions call them up. I called to ensure that it would fit on my saw, they actually had me e-mail them picture of the table and a few measurements to ensure it would fit.

Very pleased all the way around!

[Mike Schuch]

I have a Vega on my Powermatic 65 10" cabinet saw and a Biesemeyer on my Powermatic 71 12" cabinet saw. I prefer the Biesemeyer fence for one and only one reason; I can't keep the measuring tape from falling off the round fence rail on the Vega. Otherwise the Biesemeyer and Vega are pretty equal in my view. I have tried the micro adjust on the Vega but usually just tap or bump for small increments.