Was thinking about getting the Delta T2 fence...but I might get the Vega

[Troy Turner]

So I'm going to make my desktop out of solid wood. Going to use some rough sawn so I'm going to need to rip some clean edges. Convinced my finance officer that I needed a new fence.

I have an 80's model craftsman saw with the stock fence. Yeah, time to upgrade. I know there are alot of "better" ones out there, but this is in my budget. About $150 or so shipped.

So for those that have one, do you like it? And have any of you retro'd it to a craftsman saw?

[scott spencer]

The T2 is a darn good bang for the buck IMHO, and is a great match to your saw.

[Cary Falk]

I had one on a contractor's saw. Great fence. I have heard of many people putting it on Craftsman saws.

[Wayne Hendrix]

I have one on my saw and like it, its very close to the Biesemeyer I have used in the past, and definitely worth the $150.

[Jim Rimmer]

I put one on a C'man saw. Couldn't use the rear rail so I put a piece of lexan on the bottom of the fence and let it slide on the table. Soon after, my motor burned up and I replaced the saw. a friend machined the ts top and it is now my router table and the T2 is still on it.

[Jeremy Milam]

I have it and like it. Plan ahead to drill a few new holes but not bad. I found a step by step on how to mount it on a craftsman online which was helpful.

[Troy Turner]

I was fixing to pull the trigger, but noticed the Vega for $259...And, it's made in the U.S.A. There's a good chance I'll go this route instead. But I have to see if I can get my Christmas bonus early from my other half ;)

[Dave Zellers]

I was fixing to pull the trigger, but noticed the Vega for $259...

I'm looking at the Vega too but I only see it for $279. Do you have a link for the $259? I'm talking about the Vega 40, you too?

[Troy Turner]

Dave -

Found it on Amazon...The 50 is cheaper than the smaller one.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=vega+fence&sprefix=vega+fence

[Dave Zellers]

Dave -

Found it on Amazon...The 50 is cheaper than the smaller one.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=vega+fence&sprefix=vega+fence
That's the Utility 50. I'm looking at the Pro 40 which is $279 I guess.

[Matt Day]

I don't have much experience with the T2, but I had the U50 for a few years and liked it a lot. The micro adjust feature is very nice - I'm bumbing with my Biesemeyer now. The only things I didn't like about it is that most jigs are designed around a Biesemeyer style fence, and if I remember right the Vego didn't have angle iroon on both sides of the saw to mount a table too.

[Robert Todd]

I bought the smaller Vega I think 36 several years ago for my Craftsman 113 series contractor saw. I have been very pleased. Easy to install and adjust, strong and accurate, and glides smoothly. If I remember correctly it was about $175 from Amazon.

[Doug Colombo]

I bought the smaller Vega I think 36 several years ago for my Craftsman 113 series contractor saw. I have been very pleased. Easy to install and adjust, strong and accurate, and glides smoothly. If I remember correctly it was about $175 from Amazon.

+1 on the Vega - I put one on my old Craftsman TS and LOVE IT. It is very accurate and very easy to remove from the saw when not in use. It also has a micro adjust that at times has come in very handy !

[Troy Turner]

When I called the company the guy said it should mount right up. Probably only have to drill a hole in the back. Lots of y'all seem happy with the Delta though. Just didn't realize stuff was still made HERE!

[Bob Turkovich]

Installed a T2 fence on my son's late 80's Craftsman saw about three months ago (It was handed down by my FIL). I did a lot of online research before doing this and found the best advice by following the instructions from Jeff Miller's post on this thread:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?76364-Delta-T2-Table-Saw-Fence

He (and I) are delighted with the fence but it did require a bit of drilling. It helped to have a drill press to drill the holes in the rails. Drilling the holes in the cast iron top were no problem.

I wouldn't hesitate to do this again - not sure what you're getting for the extra 100 bucks for the Vega (I only know of one Vega user and he is happy with his fence as well.)

[tyler mckee]

i have a t2 on my 113 contractor saw and am verry happy with it, got it at lowes for about $130 out the door if i remember right. Had to drill new holes in the mounting rails, easy enough. Got it on and dialed in and havent had to adjust anything yet.

[Ryan Hellmer]

On the vega's there is some difference between the "utility" and "pro" models. Smaller guide tubes, light fence extrusions, and I can't remember if the utility comes with the micro adjust, which is arguably one of the only reasons to choose a vega over something else. I have a vega pro-50 and it is a nice fence. Never used the T-2, but from what I've heard, its a lighter version of the bies. Having used a bies quite a bit, I can't imagine that lighter is necessarily a bad thing. I like the idea of supporting american made stuff. Have you considered an accusquare from MuleCab? They are pretty nice too.

Ryan

[Curt Harms]

.............
I like the idea of supporting american made stuff. Have you considered an accusquare from MuleCab? They are pretty nice too.

Ryan

I've had the MuleCab since the late '90s. It's been fine, the T slots on all 3 faces can be handy. The downside is they can't be lifted off the saw, they have to be slid off the end. I have a second home made router fence on my table saw and there are times it would be handy to lift the fence off. I can lower the blade and slide the fence left so it's not too big a hassle but still something to think about.

[Homer Faucett]

Here's another vote for the T2. I've had, at different times, the T2, Bies, Unifence, and (now) Incra TS-LS. As a hobbyist, I see no advantage to getting a Bies instead of the T2 unless the price was the same, as the T2 is a great fence.

In fact, the only fence I like better than the T2/Bies (I see them as interchangeable for all practical purposes) is the Incra. I'm sure the Vega is nice, and lots of people seem to like theirs, but I don't think you can beat the T2 for the money. I just happened to get my Incra new for about the same price as you're planning on spending on the Vega.

[Dave Zellers]

What pushes me to the Vega is the 40" width vs 30" for the T2.

[Jason Dreyer]

Another +1 for the Vega. I have an older Craftsman contractor's saw, and the stock fence is just junk. I replaced it with the Vega and couldn't be happier. Very accurate and the micro-adjust is very useful. It was a breeze to install and true up, just had to drill one hole in the cast iron tabletop in the back.

[Homer Faucett]

What pushes me to the Vega is the 40" width vs 30" for the T2.

T2 rails can easily be pushed to the right 10" to make the rip capacity 40", as long as you don't need to cut with the fence to the left of the blade. I can't ever remember cutting to the left of the blade, personally.

[Geoff Barry]

As I mentioned in this thread, I had good luck getting a Shop Fox Bies clone for about $200. Not that the T2 isn't a fine fence, but it the cost is similar, it's worth considering the Shop Fox. I've never used a Vega, so Idon't know how tht compares one way or the other.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?153156-Delta-T2-Fence-Need-An-After-market-fence

[Dave Zellers]

T2 rails can easily be pushed to the right 10" to make the rip capacity 40", as long as you don't need to cut with the fence to the left of the blade. I can't ever remember cutting to the left of the blade, personally.

I do all my straight cutting to the right of the blade but since the blade tilts right, I do my bevel cutting to the left of the blade if possible.

But your comment about moving the T2 rails to the right really has me thinking...

What about buying the Vega Pro 50 and moving (installing) the rails to the left so I had 40" rip capacity on the right and 20" - 22" bevel rip capacity on the left?

Has anyone done this? Does anyone with a Vega 50 think this would be possible? This would be awesome if possible.

[Dave Zellers]

Wow-- I sent an email to Vega with my question and got a response within a few minutes that yes it is possible to do that.

Quick! And good news.

Apologies Troy for sort of hijacking your thread but it seems quite relevant at the same time.

[Troy Turner]

Not worried about it Dave...that's just some more good info for me :) Yeah, their customer service seems to be pretty good. I've called him twice already...

[James White]

At $260 you may be better off searching Craig's List for one of the Ridgid table saws. I don't know the model # but they are quite common to see for sale under $300. You may get lucky and find a cabinet saw for not much more.

What craftsman saw do you have?

[James White]

Ridgid TS36050

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?166293-Used-TS3650-questions

[scott spencer]

At $260 you may be better off searching Craig's List for one of the Ridgid table saws. I don't know the model # but they are quite common to see for sale under $300. You may get lucky and find a cabinet saw for not much more.

What craftsman saw do you have?

Not sure I'd see any advantage to the 3650 over a very similar Emerson made Cman contractor saw with a Vega or T2 fence. The two saws share some ancestry.

[Troy Turner]

James - I've got an older 80's model 113 (I believe) belt drive. Found it on Craigslist a couple years ago. I go out every now and then looking, but around here, that's all anyone is selling.

[Joseph Tarantino]

t2 on a 80s vintage 113 c-man tabel saw:

195366

this fence is on a TS which is the outfeed table for my ripping TS, a ridgid ts2412. and this may sound like blasphemy, but i prefer the OEM fence on my 2412 to the t2 on the c-man. maybe it's just because i grew up on a 2412. but i would agree with previous comments about what, exactly, does the extra $100 for the vega get you?

[Dan Barber1]

I had a Vega 52 inch that came on my Rockwell Unisaw when I bought it used about 1985. It worked fine but was too big for my small shop so I bought a Vega 36 or 40 inch about ten years ago. After a couple of years it started slipping in the middle of a cut, i.e. the locking mechanism on the fence wouldn't hold. I couldn't see how to fix it so I started to using c clamps to hold it to the rail and then even the 52 inch started to doing the same thing. C Clamps there too. They worked all right with the C Clamps but it was a real pain to work with so I got a T2 fence about a year ago. It's a dream. Locks every time never slips and was easy to install on my saw. For me, I wouldn't get another Vega.

[Bobby O'Neal]

I have a T2 on an older Craftsman saw. Love it.


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