Vega Fence Modification

Blake -

Great ideas. I don’t have a Vega fence . . . I do have a similar recess in my fence so I might be borrowing the insert concept. Excellent!

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

I put some rare earth magnets inside the square tube of my fence. Now when I put stuff on the metal, it just sticks to it. It’s handy for adjustment drivers for my incra sled/mitre gauge, rules, etc. Just an idea. Three 1” rare earth magnets along the fence magnetizes the entire top.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

I have a vega fence on my unisaw, but both are sorta stored in a corner right now. I think its a great saw fence.
Not so great in a heavy production environment where you see guys hitting the handle with a block of wood thinking that makes it more snug though :-(....But some people can tear up a crowbar.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

Great modification and thinking outside the box. Box tube that is.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Good thinking. The Biesmeyers do the same thing..pop up on the end when you tighten down on it.

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Hey Blake, I have a Vega too and really like it, but you don’t have to slide it off the end to remove it. You just lift the front till it clears the bar and then push backwards so the clip disengages. The clip on the back of mine has about a 1/2” of clearance between it and the bar though (which might be wrong, I got it used with no instructions) but works nicely.

-- I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso

I know I’m really pulling this back from the dead, but I have a functionality question…..how has changing the cam lever around changed the function of the t-square? My thoughts are (and please correct me if I’m wrong as I’m a bit of a newbie), when the handle is in the original position, the little clicks you’re hearing are the backside of the T-square pulling up slightly on the rear rail. Would this provide a small amount of additional friction on that rear rail making it a little more secure? By turning the cam around, I think when it is locked the T-square is forced down instead of up – thereby negating the necessity of the rear rail…..Is this somewhat accurate or am I WAY off?

If this is the case, in general – what is the purpose of the rear rail if it locks hard on the front rail and the t-square is sufficiently sturdy enough not to flex?

-- - Ryan -- Round Lake, IL

Um…

There was never anything that “locks” the fence to the rear rail (like older and/or cheaper fences such as the tube style found on many old delta or rockwell tablesaws.) It only locks into place against the front rail, which is what makes it a “T-square” style fence.

A Beisemeyer fence sits on the top of the table saw. This is where the Vega differs: there is actually a space between the fence and the saw because it is supported by the front and rear rails (a little plastic foot rides on the rear rail). So to answer your last question: the only purpose of the rear rail is to hold up the back of the fence. The fact that the fence glides on the two rails and doesn’t rest on the table top actually makes it VERY smooth.

The clip in the back never had anything to do with stability. It didn’t lock down on the rear rail, and it did not create any additional friction. All it did was keep the back side of the fence from lifting up (a fix for poor design in my opinion).

What I did is turn the front locking cam upside-down…

• which means that to lock it you pull up instead of push down on the handle to lock it in place;
• and in turn keeps the back of the fence down against the rear rail instead of pivoting up
• and eliminates the need for the rear clip

Does that answer your question? Why do you ask? Do you have one of these fences?

-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com