# Fence upgrade for Ridgid R4512



## Furnitude (Oct 18, 2008)

Hi folks. It's been a while. I'm finally getting around to upgrading the fence on my Ridgid R4512 table saw. I see there are several options: Vega Utility 26 (Rockler, $289), Vega PRO 40 (Amazon, $307), Delta Beisemeyer (Home Depot, $350), Shop Fox (Grizzly, $350). I guess I should add the Incra TS-LS for $400 for comparison.

These are all close enough in price that I'd be willing to buy any of them (the Incra is a bit too much). I wonder if there is a difference, beyond size, between the Vega Utility and Vega Pro. The Pro looks a little sturdier. Given that the prices are so close, any reason why I shouldn't just grab the Beisemeyer? I guess another factor is the ease of installing on my R4512. I've read that the Vega Pro is quite easy.

I hesitate to spend $350 for a fence on a saw that is worth less than that, but I'm not going to be able to upgrade the table saw itself for a few years (SawStop, here I come!) and the stock fence on the R4512 was not great to begin with and has gotten loose over time. My choice is to spend ~$350 now and get some work done.


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## mramseyISU (Mar 3, 2014)

Before you drop the money on a new fence have you tried tightening the bolt on the outfeed side of the stock fence? I did that with mine and made it a lot better.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

I just did a quick check, and it seems like the 30" Delta T3 (Biesemeyer) can be had for $185 at the moment (and with free shipping).

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Delta-Power-Equipment-30-in-T-Square-Fence-and-Rail-System-36-T30T3/205803795

Cheers,
Brad


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## Furnitude (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks for the responses. I'll check out that bolt. I saw that fence at Home Depot but it doesn't appear to be a Beisemeyer and looks like it might be aluminum, which I'm trying to avoid.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

That Delta T3 is about the best bang for the buck going IMO.


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## Furnitude (Oct 18, 2008)

I'm afraid the T3 fence body is aluminum, which is the root of the problem of my existing fence. I want steel! It's worth it to me to buy something really solid that won't flex.


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## DustyM (May 16, 2016)

> That Delta T3 is about the best bang for the buck going IMO.
> 
> - knotscott


Yup, having a 36-725, it's basically (i think the T3 has a single piece front/rear rail) the same. The aluminum isn't great; it tends to flex. I remedied this by replacing the face of the fence with Melamine.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

AFAIK the rails and body of the fence are steel, and the faces are aluminum. No doubt the bigger fences like the Jet Xacta II, PM Accufence, HTC, Saw Stop T-Glide, Shop Fox Classic, etc, are beefier but the T3 should be quite a bit stouter than the R4512 fence. The Vega fences are nice too.


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## PaulHWood (Mar 26, 2012)

I bought this one used for $100. It had the UMHW fences in addition to the stock. I asked the guy I was buying it from (a professional woodworker) how much of a difference it would make as he previously had it on a ridgid that the motor went on. He said night and day and he was dead on. I think maybe a better fence than this one would outperform the saw.

The holes were not perfectly lined up with my saw, so I had to add one hole to the fence, but then it went on quite easy. It must have been karma as the fence was dead square and even lined up perfect on the measurement scale. I have since trashed the steel wings and added small storage tables full length.










I have planned an outfeed table as the rear angle has some holes for attachment



> I just did a quick check, and it seems like the 30" Delta T3 (Biesemeyer) can be had for $185 at the moment (and with free shipping).
> 
> http://www.homedepot.com/p/Delta-Power-Equipment-30-in-T-Square-Fence-and-Rail-System-36-T30T3/205803795
> 
> ...


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## Furnitude (Oct 18, 2008)

Thanks, folks. I just pulled the trigger on a Vega Pro 40 from Amazon. I went that direction because: installation seems easier than other fences on my saw, the fence is stronger than necessary (which I wanted) and i like the idea of the micro adjuster. I'll report back on installation. Thanks again, Mitch


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

> Thanks, folks. I just pulled the trigger on a Vega Pro 40 from Amazon. I went that direction because: installation seems easier than other fences on my saw, the fence is stronger than necessary (which I wanted) and i like the idea of the micro adjuster. I ll report back on installation. Thanks again, Mitch
> 
> - Furnitude


That's an excellent choice IMO. The installation is simpler than most, and the microadjuster is among the best I've seen.  Let us know how it goes!


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## Furnitude (Oct 18, 2008)

One other thing to note about my decision between the Vega Pro 40 and the Utility 26. I don't actually have enough room in my shop to cut the full width the Pro 40 allows. My table saw is located between a support post and our furnace. The Utility 26 was about $20 cheaper. For that $20, I got a beefier fence and the micro-adjuster. Seems like a good deal. Thanks again, all. I will report back. The fence should arrive by Saturday.


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## richardchaos (May 12, 2017)

I am not a lover of RIDGID table saws Sell it and get a new one


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## Furnitude (Oct 18, 2008)

There's some logic for you.

Moving on. I got the Vega in the mail on Saturday and took some time to install it yesterday. With my Ridgid R4512, the front bar went on with no need to drill any holes. There are enough holes to accommodate lots of different saws. I did have to drill a hole in the back rail, which wasn't very hard. I had a brand new drill bit and drilling through both sides took me maybe 10 minutes, most of which was marking out where the hole would be. Installed the back rail with no problem. I need to work on the height of the rails before the head has any chance of working correctly, so that's my next step. Since the Vega PRO 40 is longer than I need, I'm going to take advantage of the space and build a table with a melamine top and some shelves underneath. That will be a nice upgrade. I will chime in with my progress.


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## Furnitude (Oct 18, 2008)

Last night I made good progress. First, with the old rails off the saw, I took the time to re-align the blade, which had drifted over the last several years. I got that to about 4/1000ths, so I'm pleased. With the new rails on, I loosened the bolts and adjusted them to the recommended 1/16th on the front and 7/16th on the back. I put the head and guide on, adjusted to parallel with one of the miter slots and tightened them. It's solid. I was able to repeated move the fence around and still be parallel. This is a huge improvement to the saw. With the blade aligned and the new fence installed, this saw is going to work as well as a $1,000+ saw. My next step is to build a table to the right of the saw. I'm experimenting with putting some T-track parallel to the saw blade in the hopes of building a sled that would function as a sliding table. More to come and I'll add photos at some point.

One small problem. The cam lever for the micro adjust is so tight that I can't move it. I had to tap it with a hammer to even make it budge. Not sure why it is in there so tightly. I think I will just try to gradually work it so it loosens up. Might add some graphite.


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