A solid, precise fence is crucial to a table saw's ability to make rip cuts safely, cleanly and accurately, but not all standard-issue fences are as robust as they ought to be. The Vega Saw Fence System locks parallel to the saw blade, includes accurate measuring scales, maintains alignment and allows for fine adjustments.
It's designed for quick mounting by using existing mounting holes on Delta Unisaws and contractor saws, Powermatic Model 66 saws, most Sears 10' table saws and most other saws with fence rail mounting holes 8'-9' on either side of the blade (other saws may require drilling two or four mounting holes.) The fence system includes slotted front brackets to allow vertical and horizontal adjustments and jacking plates to help with leveling the fence rails. Available with 26' or 50' rip capacity to the right of the blade and 8' to the left. These fences are not for jobsite saws. I have an old Craftsman table saw that I purchased new in the late 1980’s. Good heavy cast iron.a very nice saw. But the rip fence was always the weak link, and I suffered with it from day 1. About 6 years ago, I bit-the-bullet and bought this Vega system.
I was not prepared for the joy and confidence this one upgrade would give me. Yes, I had to drill a couple holes into the cast iron of my table saw, but it was easy enough.used a cordless drill to do that. Now here I am, about 6 years later and I still love and recommend this Vega fence. I use it every single day (seriously, 6 days per week at least).
I still love the design and the heft of this rip fence. Don’t suffer any longer with a crappy fence that is inaccurate and does not lock square to your blade.it will cause your work to be shoddy and is often unsafe. If you’ve been on the fence about getting one (no pun intended), I would recommend pulling the trigger. To this day, I marvel and smile every time I use her! As many have said, why in the heck did I not buy this years ago. I have a 30 year old 113 craftsman saw. The fence on that saw was always a pain.
I purchased this and thanks to two youtube videos by other woodworkers (seek them out you will need them) it made it clearer how to install. The instructions are there but not logical in many ways and copied so many time you can barely read the numbers in the poorly drawn diagrams. I had to drill holes for the front and back on my saw. Two for the front and one for the back. Not hard to do.
I also had to remove the measuring tape on the front rail and move it to the right one inch in order to line up the saw blade with '0'. The tape pulled up slowly but without much problem and there was enough glue still on it to restick it back down without adding contact cement. After a final adjustment to ensure square, it works like a dream.
It also has a micro-adjustment. I hate to sound like a broken record but I also put the 50 inch fence on an old (30+) Craftsman 10 inch contractor saw. Like everyone else I struggled and outright cursed the OEM fence that originally came with the saw.I started some cabinets for my daughter and after fighting and losing with the OEM fence I purchased the Vega 50.Here is where I seem to go in a different direction than most of the other people that purchased this fence.
I did watch the videos on installation and I did read reviews until my eyes were crossed. I held my breath and purchased the Vega 50.The box came in perfect condition, there was no oil, burrs or any other production problems that I could find. As a side note, in an earlier life I also was a machinist and also deplore burrs on machined surfaces. I think that the complaints about the instructions come from rank novices or those with no mechanical ability. I found the instructions easy to understand with no head scratching or clarification needed.I am writing this review almost a year after I installed the Vega 50 system. I can tell you that I literally asked my wife to come out and watch me make a cut with the new fence.
Every time I use my saw I now giggle like a little kid! It works just like it did when I installed it last year.I recently found a used PowerMatic 66 table saw for three hundred dollars. Needless to say it is going to need some work. Nothing that some elbow grease can't fix but it did not come with a fence. Hello Vega 50!Overall if you have an old saw that won't cut straight consistently, you owe the saw a Vega fence.
I am completely pleased with the performance of the fence and I think that you get what you pay for. Dollar value for performance of this fence is fantastic.
My Craftsman contractor saw came with a Align A Rip 24/24 fence that was just ok. Soon after, I purchased a Biesemeyer fence for it and it was a very good upgrade and 100% reliable. In a weak moment I was offered three times what I paid for it and sold it after 10+ years of great service. I then put the original 24/24 fence back on it. At the time I assumed that it would be no problem finding a new fence that was as good as the Biesemeyer but that was not the case. I finally decided to buy the Vega 26 because of the micro adjust feature and I am very happy with this purchase and the fences performance. Assembly was very easy and the adjustments are 100% accurate.Craftsman owners I have a bit of info that may help you.
Because of my original fence I did not have to drill an additional hole on the backside of the fence so if your table has three holes on each side of the table you will not have to either. If you do, do not worry as cast iron is very easy to drill. Also, wait to set your rail height until you set your fence clearance.
I set my rails to the exact referenced height and it was not even close. I put 1/16' shims under my fence and then set my rail height.This fence has turned out to be more than what I was expecting and I would have paid much more for this fence knowing what I know now. I was a little concerned about whether it would fit my 1970's Craftsman saw. Installation took about an hour. Instructions could be better. Just take your time, put on your thinking cap and you'll be fine.
On my saw their rear fence support bar was hindered by the splitter/anti-kickback safety attachment. So, I just moved the Craftsman front fence rail to the back, drilled a couple of holes and bolted it on. Now my cuts don't burn and more importantly I don't have to continually adjust the piece of junk Craftsman fence. Many of the reviews I read mentioned that the directions didn't quite cut it, but I didn't find that to be an issue. The fence installed perfectly on my 10' Craftsman (Early 1990's model) and with a minimal amount of adjusting, the accuracy was perfect. If I have anything to say that is less than positive it would be the marker that rides along the top of the fence measurement gauge, but that is easily remedied by just removing the piece and using the opening as my marker.
I am currently building a cabinet around the saw and look forward to having this unit for a long time. I just installed my new Vega fence and I am thrilled beyond words how well it works. I did not like the installation instructions, they left alot of details out that I could have used. The mod to my craftsman 10' table saw was perfect. I had no problems installing the new fence on my saw. Everything fit just perfect, making me a happy camper. I took my old fence apart and the extruded center section of my old fence I am using with my new fence.
I have several attachments that I put on my old fence, so I wanted to keep them. I purchased two t-slot bolts and used the holes in the Vega fence to attach my old fence to the new one. Now I have a new fence and my old jigs from the old one.The new fence tracks with my blade better than my old one did when it was new.
It is so much better than my old one, I would recommend it to everyone. It is light years ahead of what I was using. Great product, instructions not so good, but the fence is fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll update my review after some more use of my Vega 26 fence. The rails bolted right up to my saw. It uses the four holes (two front and two rear) in the main top of the saw, no bolts in the extension wings.
If your holes are approximately 16' apart it will fit. There are slots in the rear fence tube, and the front tube brackets to allow for minor differences in bolt spacing. The front rail extends past the right of the saw about a foot or so.As some others have mentioned, there are burrs on some of the pieces. Take a few minutes with a file and clean them up, especially where the front adjusting plates and tube brackets slide against each other. You'll want these to be able to move without any restriction to get the final alignment dialed in. I put a little paste wax on mine to help.The power switch is bolted to the old rail, so you'll have to take it off and find a new place for it.
My saw had a hole in the center of the front edge of the top, so I've got it temporarily mounted there. I plan on upgrading to a larger paddle switch.I was scared of the bad shipping reviews I'd read, so I ordered my fence through the Rockler store nearby and had it shipped there for pick up. I figured if there was any damage they'd see it too and be able to get me any damage replacements quickly. No worries though, the box was intact and everything was damage free. The parts were packed with rigid foam between them and all hardware was in heavy Ziploc bags.All in all I am happy with this fence, I've ripped a couple of pieces using the fence's measuring tape and it was right on. No more measuring the front and rear of my old fence with a tape measure!
The installation of this system was a breeze on my Craftsman 10' table saw. The necessary holes were exactly where they needed to be. The instructions - printed on one piece of paper - could be a more clear and include a bit more detail, but overall, the process only took me about an hour to complete. Everything works smoothly and seems very precise. I had no problem aligning the fence parallel with the miter slots, and made a few test cuts with excellent results.
I had to re-position the measuring tape installed on the front rail, but there were instructions for this and it went off without a hitch. This is such an improvement over the original fence that I've been using for years; I almost wept when I set up my first cut!
This product exceeds my expectations. I have an older Grizzly cabinet saw that came with a Shop Fox fence. After adding an extension table I could never keep the fence parallel.
The Vega fence was very easy to install and only needed very minor tweaking to dial it in. The Grizzly saw was a challenge though, as I had to remove the table top in order to attach the rear tube; its bolts proved inaccessible due to the trunnions.
I also had to enlarge the attachment holes on the rear bar to lower it to clear the miter slots in the table. Overall it was easy to true, and adjust the table clearances. The Vega fence is very reliable and the micro adjust feature is a very helpful item. This Vega fence (and PALS attachment) turned my 30 year old craftsman table saw into a truly accurate saw. I can now set the rip fence to the attached scale and can rest assured that the rip cut will be spot on.
Assembly was extremely easy. I did not have to drill any additional holes. After much research, I choose the Vega system and boy am I glad that I did. I am thoroughly satisfied and highly recommend this fence system to anyone looking to upgrade their old table saw. I was thinking of getting a new saw, but now I am more than satisfied with my modified Craftsman. I'm a retired tool and die maker who does some hobby woodworking and ordered this to replace the original fence on an old Craftsman saw.
I never expected the improvement to be so dramatic. This fence repeats and retains its position extremely well (within a few thousandths of an inch). My only gripe would be that a poor job was done deburring the parts by the factory but that was easily remedied during the install which was so simple. Don't put up with wasting time, repeating measurements over and over again with your old fence. This tool will transform your saw and make it so easy and fun to use that you'll be kicking yourself for having waited so long. You will never again need to bring your tape measure to the saw.
I have an old Craftsman 10” table saw that like all Craftsman suffer of poor fence alignment. This force to double measure front and back of table to be sure cut will be parallel.
In addition to time consuming this all time procedure is frustrating due it fails once in a while putting cut out of exactness. After reading all comment here and other forums I considered getting my Vega fence for a change.
My fence is the 26” system. I have to say that in my case the instructions were straight thru once I read them 2 times before start. The unit came badly packed so far that in my box the “head micro adjust cam knob” came broken, this is something I have to solve with. Also have to say that its true all said about craftsmanship.
Make no sense how this can happens, almost 50% of parts needs to be prepared to deal with due to poor terminations. After solving all above the reality is 180 degrees different. The exactness of this fence is super. Since the first test cut I start to get impress how it performs. The movement of the fence from one side to the other its rock solid. It did now any deviation from alignment on every move and it was right on the money every time it’s moved for another cut. I do not notice any looseness once the cam is set in place.
The so smooth movement of the whole fence over the table show that this fence design was well done and thinking in woodworker like us having a craftsman table saw. In my case I did not have to drill any hole in the table saw except the 2 holes for the real hold down. This fence has placed my table saw back on business since the only handicap it had was the fence system.
If you have troubles with your fence due to poor alignment and instability with every new move to cut, seriously consider this Vega system. I was a little cautious about the Vega fence system but I have since put any fears to rest. I have an old Delta contractor saw that only has a 22.25' table not the standard 27' and that was my concern. I was able to modify the fence to fit my table without any trouble. So any of you out there with this same dilema - have no fear this fence is for you.
I am overjoyed at the performance of the fence and have since built a melamine table extension to match the 52' rails. Contrary to other comments about the instructions - I had no problems with them. If you read them first, then you shouldn't have an issue. Also, the tape was easily repositioned with the use of a heat gun and a razor.
I heated the 52' end in case I encountered an issue and used a razor to catch the edge and carefully lifted the tape as I heated it. The glue globbed a bit but with the heat it was easy to melt it again when I repositioned the tape. BTW, don't forget to clean the rail with mineral spirits prior to the procedure.With that said, I must agree with the comments regarding craftsmanship. There is overspray and edges need to be filed to prevent accidental injury.
The drilled holes were never cleaned and there are metal shavings present. It is profoundly evident that production rather than quality control was given priority. All in all, I would buy this product again and more importantly, I would recommend it to my friends.
Hope this helps. Like most of the guys here I added this to an old Craftsman contractor saw. Very nice upgrade. Easily installed and adjusted.
Nice product. The only thing in the instructions that I found was you can install the back rail upside down which they failed to mention and then the fence sits too high up. When discovered and corrected it fit great. I think I am going to be very happy with my purchase.
These premium fences are pretty pricey but I guess its what the market will bear. I think this fence was about as much as I originally gave for the saw when new. I suppose time and inflation have a factor in that.
Purchased the 26 Utility yesterday for my 1970s Craftsman 10' saw. The stock fence was almost impossible to lock down parallel to the blade. The Vega 26 locks down parallel every time.
My mediocre 10' saw is now consistently accurate and a pleasure to use. The front rail was a perfect fit and the back rail required just one 5/16' hole to be drilled in the apron of the tabletop. The micro adjust is going to be a real pleasure to use.
With the accuracy built into this product, you would think that Vega would take more pride in their product and pay a little more attention to the cleanliness of their components. The front and rear brackets were extremely dirty/oily. The front rail bracket is an aluminum extrusion with holes punched for bolts.this part obviously comes from the lowest bidder.
It has rough edges throughout. The assembly instructions leave a lot to be desired. All this being said, it is still a great performing product. I installed the 26' fence on my 30+ year old Craftsman 10' table saw without any extraordinary difficulty.
I did have to swap a mispackaged front bracket for the correct one but the local store had another one in stock and made the swap. The install required no new holes for the fence.
I did have to move the power switch as the original position places it behind the bar. I put mine on the left front using the original switch and drilling one additional hole to provide a secure mount. Without the time it took for the swap, half a day, the store is 30 miles away, it took me about 35 - 40 minutes to do the complete install and make some test cuts. Once installed and aligned, easy if you follow the instructions, the fence works very well. The micro adjuster is a big plus, it saved me considerable time in setting up the cuts for some tenons. The fence slides easily and locks easily.
Two cautions: 1: if you are using a feather board do not compress it too much as the fence can slide if you push hard enough. 2: Some of the newer saw blades are thinner than the standard 1/8 inch so if you set the fence up with a standard blade you need to use the micro adjuster to compensate. The Rockler universal fence clamp is large enough to use on this fence if you want to clamp a board to the saw side of the fence. I would recommend this fence to anyone who is looking for something better than the stock fences that are out there on the contractor size saws.
BEST ANSWER: I do not know if it would fit a Kobalt saw but I think it would, as most of the parts are simple to install. I just had to drill some holes in my saw to make it fit the fence. I tell you though, that having a reliable fence has made me such a better wood worker. In the past I was reluctant with my old Craftsman fence as I could not get two cuts the exact same length. I really amaze my self as I am doing a bathroom remodel and everything fits! It takes so much frustration out and makes wood projects enjoyable.I hope this helps even though I could not get you a direct answer.Good luck; a good fence whatever brand is so worth the investment.Greg.
on Mar 3, 2016. Purchased on Mar 28, 2015. BEST ANSWER: I do not know if it would fit a Kobalt saw but I think it would, as most of the parts are simple to install. I just had to drill some holes in my saw to make it fit the fence.
I tell you though, that having a reliable fence has made me such a better wood worker. In the past I was reluctant with my old Craftsman fence as I could not get two cuts the exact same length. I really amaze my self as I am doing a bathroom remodel and everything fits! It takes so much frustration out and makes wood projects enjoyable.I hope this helps even though I could not get you a direct answer.Good luck; a good fence whatever brand is so worth the investment.Greg. on Mar 3, 2016.
Purchased on Mar 28, 2015. Question regarding this fence and installation - I currently have my table saw built into my workbench.
This includes the outfeed section behind as well as on each side of the saw. My question relates to the rear rail - and whether it is required to be installed since it appears its main function is to provide support for the fence button. Would a piece of smooth metal or similar placed at the right distance from the top of the table surface suffice? (presuming one does not intend to use the rear lock down feature of the system)? Im asking because I would have to cut a space behind my saw as it currently stands to allow for the installation of this rear bar and wanted to see if a flat surface for the button to slide on is good enough.Hope this makes sense.
Thanks in advance. BEST ANSWER: The VEG fence system attaches to the saw's table using sliding T-Nuts that are slid to the hole positions of the target saw table. My VEGA installation was quite easy on my new Craftsman saw. Over all I like it very much.On the negative side, the fence components arrived dirty (greasy), rusty and had paint overspray on the head piece that is supposed to slide easily on the rail piece. I would expect to be fired as as quality inspector for shipping the unit I received. After about two hours of cleaning the fence was successfully installed and work very well after a year of use. There are other fence systems out there so let Google help you find them.
on Nov 30, 2016. Purchased on May 6, 2015.
BEST ANSWER: The VEG fence system attaches to the saw's table using sliding T-Nuts that are slid to the hole positions of the target saw table. My VEGA installation was quite easy on my new Craftsman saw. Over all I like it very much.On the negative side, the fence components arrived dirty (greasy), rusty and had paint overspray on the head piece that is supposed to slide easily on the rail piece. I would expect to be fired as as quality inspector for shipping the unit I received.
After about two hours of cleaning the fence was successfully installed and work very well after a year of use. There are other fence systems out there so let Google help you find them. on Nov 30, 2016.
Purchased on May 6, 2015. Hello,I purchased the Vega fence because I had an old Craftsman which had a fence that I had to true up with every change in setting. I believe the Vega is adaptable for about any type of table saw if one is willing to make a few holes and adapt it to their saw. I never regretted doing it as my saw is so much more versatile.
I did a bathroom remodel shortly after purchasing it and was amazed with the accuracy of the cuts. I am not leery on taking on more challenging project now that I know my cuts will be accurate and true. Good luck and Merry Christmas,greg. Thank You Greg,I ended up calling VEGA and was able to talk through the conversion and for a standard table saw it seemed pretty straightforward. Mine had a slightly more complicated problem. In that my saw has a sliding table to the left of the blade that was supported by the original JET fence. Luckily the pieces I needed to alter were extruded aluminum and it cut very nicely with a jig saw to adapt it.I have been very pleased with the fence system.
I was ripping a board to width and was able to cut a 1/16' piece of the boards entire 6 foot length with no problem and no variation in width.on Dec 9, 2016. BEST ANSWER: I was not familiar with the Porter Cable 3812 so I looked at a few pictures on the web. The 3812 seems to be a small 'contractor' type portable table saw meant for transporting between job sites and as a result has a fairly small table. Realize the Vega fence is 36' front to back and the short rail is 26'. That looks to be about 2X the size of the 3812 table. I would think if you are going to mount the Vega fence to a 3812, some serious cutting of the fence and rail will be in order. I am not going to say it cannot be done, but it will require more work than mounting to the typical Craftsman or like table saw.
on May 28, 2016. Purchased on Oct 31, 2014. BEST ANSWER: I was not familiar with the Porter Cable 3812 so I looked at a few pictures on the web. The 3812 seems to be a small 'contractor' type portable table saw meant for transporting between job sites and as a result has a fairly small table. Realize the Vega fence is 36' front to back and the short rail is 26'. That looks to be about 2X the size of the 3812 table. I would think if you are going to mount the Vega fence to a 3812, some serious cutting of the fence and rail will be in order.
I am not going to say it cannot be done, but it will require more work than mounting to the typical Craftsman or like table saw. on May 28, 2016. Purchased on Oct 31, 2014.
BEST ANSWER: My Craftsman saw is about 35 years old - don’t know the model or series. I am very pleased with the fence you are considering. The biggest imprevement is that it is always square to the cutting blade, unlike the fence that came with the saw. Measuring the width of the cut is also much easily reduced than it used to be. Installation required drilling a couple holes into the frame so i could get the ruler on the fence lined up correctly. That wasn’t hard to do.
Short answer - I love the fence and it wasn’t hard to attach. on Dec 5, 2017.
Purchased on Jul 17, 2016. BEST ANSWER: My Craftsman saw is about 35 years old - don’t know the model or series.
I am very pleased with the fence you are considering. The biggest imprevement is that it is always square to the cutting blade, unlike the fence that came with the saw. Measuring the width of the cut is also much easily reduced than it used to be. Installation required drilling a couple holes into the frame so i could get the ruler on the fence lined up correctly.
Vega Fence Owner's Manual Pdf
That wasn’t hard to do. Short answer - I love the fence and it wasn’t hard to attach. on Dec 5, 2017. Purchased on Jul 17, 2016. BEST ANSWER: ACe87, I looked up your midel 113 and it looks almost identical to mine. I had to drill two holes in the saw table but the fence works great and has brought my table saw back to life.
User's Manual
I had previously fixed my old fence several times but always had to measure both front and back to make sure the fence was square. Now it is measure once and lock the fence and it is right on. Well worth the little bit of work drilling the two holes. It will fit your saw with the extra work but will be like having a new saw. on Sep 26, 2016. Purchased on Mar 17, 2015. BEST ANSWER: ACe87, I looked up your midel 113 and it looks almost identical to mine.
I had to drill two holes in the saw table but the fence works great and has brought my table saw back to life. I had previously fixed my old fence several times but always had to measure both front and back to make sure the fence was square. Now it is measure once and lock the fence and it is right on.
Well worth the little bit of work drilling the two holes. It will fit your saw with the extra work but will be like having a new saw. on Sep 26, 2016. Purchased on Mar 17, 2015. BEST ANSWER: The short one fits right on your saw, the long one extends about another 2 feet off the right side of your saw. It needs support that you would build on to your saw. The advantage is that you could cut large panels, the disadvantage is that your saw would take up a lot of space.
I bought the small one and it is fantastic. Has made my cuts much more accurate. Just as an aside, I recently bought the Gri-ripper from Rockler and love it too.
It adds a large degree of saftey. on Apr 2, 2019. BEST ANSWER: The short one fits right on your saw, the long one extends about another 2 feet off the right side of your saw. It needs support that you would build on to your saw.
The advantage is that you could cut large panels, the disadvantage is that your saw would take up a lot of space. I bought the small one and it is fantastic. Has made my cuts much more accurate. Just as an aside, I recently bought the Gri-ripper from Rockler and love it too. It adds a large degree of saftey.
on Apr 2, 2019.