Vega U26 Table Saw Fence System: 36-Inch Fence Bar, 26-Inch to Right

I own a 1947 Unisaw and at 73 years old it was time to replace the cranky old OEM fence. The Vega U26 was pretty straightforward if you have any mechanical ability but here’s a few tips for older Uni owners.Tip #1: The bolts that come with the Vega are 5/16”. The bolts that hold the original rails are 3/8-24. Go to the hardware store and buy 2 - 3/8-24 x 1 1/4” for the front and 2 - 3/8-24 x 2 1/4” for the back. The holes are drilled and tapped into the table and the front brackets and rear rail will bolt right in.Tip #2: Re-drill the holes in the rear bracket to 1/2”. You will need the addition clearance to let the rail drop below the miter slot.Tip #3: There is a plastic bumper that attaches on the underneath side of the fence. This bumper slides along the top of the rear rail. Remove the Phillips head screw and remove the flat washer from under the bumper. Removing the washer will allow the rear or the fence to drop down to the table.Tip #4: When you bolt the fence to the front mount you will have to remove the rear plate on the fence and slide out the Formica cover to access the four mounting screws. Leave the plate off until you adjust the front and rear rail. The instructions tell you to adjust the fence leaving a 1/16” gap between the bottom of the fence and the top of the table. The rear plate you removed is 1/16” thick. Lay it under the fence, drop the rails to get your clearance, re-tighten the rail bolts and remove plate from under the fence. A perfect 1/16” clearance.Tip #5: Before you lock down the four cap screws that hold the head in take a 3 foot 1 x 4 and drop it into the miter slot. Slide the fence flush up against the 1 x 4 and then tighten the four cap screws. If your miter slot is parallel with the blade then your fence will be parallel with the blade.Tip #6: If you’re going to add a sacrificial fence to your Vega don’t use 3/4” MDF because it’s too thick. Use 1/2 oak or another hardwood. I made an MDF fence and attacked it but there’s not enough adjustment in the rails to allow you to adjust the zero mark on the scale. Not that it’s perfect but here’s what I did. You need a way to attach the sacrificial fence to the Vega fence so I tapped the existing hole to 1/4-20. The pre-drilled hole is the perfect size of the tap. Then I planed a piece of white oak to 1/2”, drilled the fence holes and drilled a countersink for a 1/4-20 flathead screw. Works perfectly.Hopefully, these tips will help all the Unisaw owners out there.

After 40+ years of using a Sears 10" table saw with the OME fence I upgraded my saw to a Vega U26 fence. Wish I did it 40 years ago.The design is well thought out.However the quality of some parts is poor, there are many sharp edges and burrs from their manufacturing processes that need to be sanded or filed smooth.The instructions are ok but should be read through a few times.Installation is pretty straightforward. For my saw I only had to drill one new hole in the table. And then relocate the measuring tape to the left about 2", which was very easy to do.Operation of the fence is very easy and smooth. The fence locks with little effort and is very stable. The micro adjustment works well. Having a fence that extends to the left of the blade is a new feature I will have to try out more.ONE NOTE FOR SEARS TABLE SAW OWNERS:After using the saw with the Vega fence for a few weeks I had the need to tilt the blade to 45 degrees. But it wouldn't tilt past about 35 deg.So after spending 2 hrs throughly cleaning all the guides, drive screw, disassembling and manually moving the mechanism I found the problem. The saw originally came with a blade guard / anti-kickback device. I haven't used it in years. However the mount for it on the back of the saw mechanism was still there. So when the blade mechanism was tilted the blade guard mount ran into the underside of Vega fence back tube rail.All in all I highly recommend this upgrade.

Solid, easy to install (even with having to install one hole in the back bar), no complaints in the quality. It can be installed intinuatively which is good because the instructions are sketchey. But if you have even moderate mechanical skills and some basic tools, it's a snap to install and true. I have only the complaint that I saw in other reviews before I bought it. The 26 does not support side wings for your table. Besides being short, a concious choice in my case, the front bar is offset away from the front of the table to accommodate that big, beautiful, solid fence. I have a Jet contractor saw with steel side wings. I put them back on the tablesaw, replacing my custom-made ones. I believe I can add a bolt or two to the rear bar and get a satisfactory performance out of them.The fence locks solidly with only light pressure on the handle, and the 1/16 fine tuning feature is wonderful. The stick-on measuring tape is not accurate to my set up and I had to get another to put it in the right place. The instructions say how to remove the original tape and re- position it, but it didn't look too promising to me.I highly recommend this fence for a small shop. If you need to cut large panels, get the 50 or up, which is longer and does support side wings. (they even provide you with a measured drawing for a torsion box wing set-up)

I recently purchased a Delta Contractor Saw 36-979. This is a great saw that did not come with a fence. After much research I chose this fence based on other peoples opinion and price. The setup was easy and it bolted on to existing holes without any additional holes needing to be drilled.The fence was easy to align and setup. Once it is set square to the table it works like butter. Very accurate and such a smooth movement with one hand.My only negative, and it is a small one, is that the fence comes with the tape already applied on the rail. The issue here is that it did not lineup with the correct measurement from the blade. It would be nice if they just gave you the tape and let you set it at the correct position.I would recommend this fence to anyone. I have used it to cut, hardwood floors, rip long boards and even to cut trim. The fence and saw combined are a great combo.