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Incra vs. Vega table saw fence

9K views 41 replies 24 participants last post by  SamIam_HuRU 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi all,
First post here. I'm in need of a fence for my craftsman table saw- the original fence is garbage, as everyone knows, but mine is broken on top of that.
Long story short, I decided on the incra ts-ls 32" fence. However, it's back ordered for close to 6 months. I could get a Vega pro fence shipped now, but I wanted everyone's opinion on if it would be worth it to wait for the incra. Important to note is that I don't need to use the table saw in that time, and can find plenty to work on with my lathe, but it would always be nice to have.
Also, does anyone know of anyone selling a used incra fence? (This is why I started a new topic instead of searching- was hoping someone may have leads on a used fence and didn't want to read through threads of sold fences).

Any opinions, advice, or help of any kind is sincerely appreciated.
Thanks!
Sam
 
#3 ·
I have a Vega fence and love it but with the exception of the built in micro-adjuster, it's not really anything different than any of the other quality fences of the same basic design. It is rock solid and reliable though.

The Incra fence provides a lot more functionality and much higher precision and adjustability. The tradeoff of course is either that it limits your ripping capacity because of the way it has to be installed and/or it increases the footprint of your saw significantly. If neither of those are an issue for you, I would probably go with the Incra.

If a more traditional fence is better suited to your work and shop space though, I don't think you'll regret having the Vega.
 
#4 ·
You will soon learn posting on LJ will result in numerous opinions. You will have to sift through them and come to a decision. Here is mine: I've had a TS/LS 52" for almost 2 years. I absolutely love it. Once correctly set up the accuracy and repeatability of the Incra is incredible. You can move the fence in either direction by as little as .001" if need be. In addition you can add other Incra products to a TS/LS such as a router table and a Wonder Fence. The Incra is a system which can be expanded in all kinds of ways. In the future you can easily move the entire Incra system to another saw.

For the record Incra has a fantastic tech support dept.

I cannot offer any opinion on the Vega since I've never used one.
 
#5 ·
The main concern I have with the Vega vs. incra is the zero-out ability. I've seen videos of how simple the incra is to zero, and that and the steel rule in a t-track is I'm sure what leads to such incredible accuracy. Do the Vega fences have this adjustability of the ruler to properly zero the fence? It's really difficult for me to spend a couple hundred bucks on a fence that's still going to be reliant on pencil markings when I know for only a bit more I could have the incra where for a lot of things I may not even need to mark my cuts. Thanks for all the info so far, looking forward to hearing more opinions!
 
#6 ·
Not really. The scale is an adhesive scale on the front rail (at least on mine it is but mine is probably 25 years old) so you can't move it like the Incra. On mine, you can move the cursor on the fence head to get it precise. However, that should be a "set it and forget it" thing. You set it once and it shouldn't move.
 
#7 ·
Long time Vega user here, and with the micro adjuster I feel it is a great fence. Now if the Incra could just set the cut up for you, and be ready to go when you walked into the shop, well then I would give it the nod. When people rave about an Incra fence being adjustable, they are still talking about that very final last MM to set it just so. Ok, so instead I use my Vega's micro adjuster for that. To me there isn't any advantage to spend more $$$.

I'm not sure what the "zero point" of my saw is, I looked in the manual, and General didn't have that information.

My take on saw cursors are unless you have a right tilter, then any blade changes you make with a left tilt saw will also change your cursor point, unless the blade has the exact same tooth configuration, and distancing. Forget about them if you put in a dado blade.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Incra is worth the wait. Talk directly to Neil at Taylor and see if he can't bump you up the list …

Incra will bump your skills up a level in one go. You'll work faster, more accurately and with less miscuts than ever before.

No start/test/stop/rap-tap/repeat to "sneak up" on a cut. Set it, cut it, move on. Botched a piece? No problem! The Incra will repeat the cut in seconds +-0.002"!

Wood Engineering Gas Office equipment Machine


Need accurate miters and precision length crosscuts? M1000 miter gauge does for crosscuts & miters what the TS-LS does for ripping & routing.

Wood Automotive tire Gas Font Metal


While you're waiting order a couple of their precision T-rules. Ruler, square and precision (to 1/64") layout marker. Layout and accurate measurements are a breeze.

Font Circle Electric blue Musical instrument accessory Rectangle


Spread the cost of the TS-LS over two tools by adding an Incra router wing & plate to your saw.

Wood Gas Composite material Hardwood Wood stain


The last pieces of the puzzle are to be able to set blade height and bevel angle with the same precision as the Incra does rips, miters, and crosscuts. So you'll need a digital height gauge:

Rectangle Microphone Font Tool Camera accessory


And also a Wixey angle cube.

Measuring instrument Gadget Temperature Font Auto part


To get the same precision in thickness as you'll have in width and length put a Wixey DRO on your planer:

Hood Automotive exterior Bumper Automotive tire Computer hardware


Don't forget a good caliper:

Wood Bumper Automotive exterior Rectangle Wood stain


Really you gotta have all the toys.

  • TS-LS $400
  • M1000 ~$150
  • Router wing (less router) ~$280
  • T-rule $20 to $60
  • Igauging Digital Height gauge $60
  • Wixey angle cube $40
  • Wixey planer DRO $60
  • 8" Digital caliper $20

So for about $1100 your shop can machine to thousandths of precision in all three dimensions. Do dado, rabbits and blind cuts with the same precision. Routinely mark to 1/64" and make layout a breeze.
 

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#10 ·
Are you confining yourself to these two? ISTM that putting a great fence on an ok TS is not a sensible thing to do. It will surely work, and be better in an absolute sense than other choices, but is it really worth it?

Retrofitting a Craftsman TS with a Delta fence like: https://www.amazon.com/Delta-Equipment-Corporation-847962005250-System/dp/B079TTTWR2/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=delta+fence&qid=1622134035&s=hi&sr=1-1
is a well worn path. I put a Delta T2 on my old CMan TS and it was great.
 
#12 ·
Not that I'm confining myself per se, but I imagine any fence I purchase can (and will) upgrade with me as I move to a newer saw. Much better now on a not so great saw could turn into exponentially better with an eventual saw upgrade.

- Sam_Bone
Also look at the cost difference between say one of those fences and buying a sawstop contractor saw or something similar. Where even the stock fence would be a massive improvement over your saw with the best fence.
 
#13 ·
I have a Shop Fox, and the fence is accurate enough… Had a Ridgid Contractor saw before that, and it was accurate enough. I've been tap-tap-tapping table saw fences professionally for close to 4 decades now.

I'm tired of it.

So, I ordered a TS-LS Joinery. The repeatability is very exciting to me. The ability to flip it over and use it for my Router, was another big thing. Then, all the little features… It was kind of a no brainer for me.

But, it won't arrive until June, probably the end of June. I've been waiting a while… That was one of the speed bumps… I kept putting it off, hoping one day the lead time would go away. Making my delay idiotically, self-imposed, and longer. So, i finally just bit the bullet and have been in a cold sweat ever since.

I have owned a Miter 1000SE (I think is the model number) for about twenty years, maybe? I love that darn thing. The angle accuracy alone was enough to sell me on INcra products. But, it's sturdy, has held up, remained accurate, tight in the miter slot, all this time. I literally use it almost every day these days.

I am sorry I can't give you any first hand experience on either of the products, but I will say I do not regret my choice of the Incra.
 
#14 ·
I have a Shop Fox, and the fence is accurate enough… Had a Ridgid Contractor saw before that, and it was accurate enough. I ve been tap-tap-tapping table saw fences professionally for close to 4 decades now.

I m tired of it.

So, I ordered a TS-LS Joinery. The repeatability is very exciting to me. The ability to flip it over and use it for my Router, was another big thing. Then, all the little features… It was kind of a no brainer for me.

But, it won t arrive until June, probably the end of June. I ve been waiting a while… That was one of the speed bumps… I kept putting it off, hoping one day the lead time would go away. Making my delay idiotically, self-imposed, and longer. So, i finally just bit the bullet and have been in a cold sweat ever since.

I have owned a Miter 1000SE (I think is the model number) for about twenty years, maybe? I love that darn thing. The angle accuracy alone was enough to sell me on INcra products. But, it s sturdy, has held up, remained accurate, tight in the miter slot, all this time. I literally use it almost every day these days.

I am sorry I can t give you any first hand experience on either of the products, but I will say I do not regret my choice of the Incra.

- Axis39
I'm in the same boat. Waiting on a incra.

I used regular fences up to when I bought a jobsite dewalt and fell in love with the rack and pinion fence.

Got a new job and trying to go back to a regular fence is awful.

Unifence, xacta, beismeyer. I think they all suck compared to the dewalt rack and pinion.

Nobody makes a R&P for bigger saws so I ordered the incra. Hopefully I like it as much as the dewalt.
 
#15 · (Edited by Moderator)
Well, the Incra TS fence isn't R&P, but it's pretty close. I also have an Incra 1000HD miter gauge and an Incra router table. Can't beat that system. One of the drawers on a travel tool chest that I made out of BB ply squirmed out of square during glue-up, and I didn't catch it in time. All I had to do to make a new drawer was to set the fence and gauge to the proper dimensions and pop out another drawer. Plus glue-up, of course.

I totally agree that this sort of precision isn't generally necessary. It depends on the item one is making. Knocking a fence back to where I needed it for making another tool chest drawer would have been an exercise in patience that I have no interest in. OMMV.
 
#16 ·
I have no opinion for the Vega. I do have the Incra system fence along with many attachments, and they all work well for me. The only thing to keep in mind for the Incra is the arm will stick out and alter the footprint. When the TS is not in use, the blade is lowered, and I bring the fence all the way in.
 
#17 ·
I had a Vega fence on my Craftsman contractor saw. It was great. The bar is adjustable, the micro adjuster worked just fine, and the index/viewing window for the scale is adjustable. The fence is very robust, and if I were to buy another commercially available fence, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another Vega.

I have no experience with the Incra. Was of the opinion they were good fences, but a recent conversation with someone who has one, has changed that somewhat. He said he didn't like his at all, and wished he'd never bought it. Don't know what the problem was, but I do have to value his opinion some. Jim
 
#18 ·
I just read some of the comments regarding the common sense of putting a good fence on a saw of questionable quality. Part of the questionable quality is directly attributable to the crumby fences that came with these saws from the factory. Without question, the best thing I ever did to that saw was fitting it with the Vega fence. Turned a so so saw into a really good one. The only reason I replaced it, was because I wanted the cabinet saw design rather than the contractor design. Put one on your saw, and you might just find that the Craftsman isn't such a poor saw after all. Jim
 
#19 ·
I agree with Jim, cheap saws biggest issue is the fence, but unless it has a riving knife, I would be looking to replace it anyway.

Lots of money for the Incra fence, so be sure it can move to a cabinet saw later. Many love them, many love the Incra, though again, a couple of posts on keeping alignment. You never know if it is the tool or the user. Often the later.

I have seen some comments on Vega quality not what it was. Unfortunately, that seems true on about everything. Real bummer. Maybe someone like Harvey, who owns BridgeCity tools has the skills to make a really good fence. it would not be cheap, but I bet we would line up.

Have you looked at the supercooltools fence?

I had a thought to improve both the rip capacity and accuracy by offsetting the fence to the right and using a longer "T". If the rails remain the same, you could make a opposite left offset fence if you ever rip left of the blade. That would give me about 4 inches on my saw. 32 to 36 is a big step!

Followers may notice my comments on riving knives. There is a reason. Personal experience that I can say is luck I was not seriously injured. I don't blame the times I had a near miss with no splitter, but the closest two times, I had the blade guard/splitter in place!
 
#20 ·
Sammy B, I have the Dewalt 7480 R&P fence and it is awesome. I had been eyeing an Incra LS-TS for awhile but could never justify pulling the trigger for that little contractor saw. I never tuned the saw, as I never intended to use it with high accuracy & repeatability in mind.

Having said that, my less-than-optimal experience with track saw tracks (especially getting long ones to cut square, even with the TSO parallel guide system) and due to a change in my circumstances, I have a cabinet saw on order that comes with a Beisemeyer-style fence. As mentioned here, and having seen the tap-tap-tapping in person at a cabinet-making class, I can honestly say I'm not looking forward to working with it…at all.

I recently received my Incra LS-25 router table, and it is as easy as Incra makes it look in their ancient videos. The teeth on the screw mean that when you zero it for what you have mounted (different bits in the RT=>different blades for the TS) and set it to 17-13/32" today, you can come back n days in the future and set 17-13/32" again and it will be precisely the same. There is no other system out there that I know of that can do that (you can do something similar with an ultra-precise DRO or Beisemeyer combined with a Woodpecker Rip-Flip and just dial in what you had before to get something close-then sand or shave it down…or just save a plethora of labeled scrap wood to use as spacers).

The only thing keeping me from ditching the Beisemeyer that will come with my cabinet TS in 9 weeks is its possible interference with the dust collection options I selected and the 20-24 week wait for a 52" LS-TS. I may still get it later, if tap-tapping is as annoying as it looks and I can figure out a way to mount it without screwing up the over-blade dust collection.

Other things for you to consider should you get the Incra (which I definitely would were I in your shoes) is that you may have to later buy different cross-supports for your Incra LS-TS if your saw now is 28" or less deep and you later get a deeper saw (which requires the "XL" cross members)...or vice-versa.

I saw in another forum (rhymes with tallstool-rowers-coop) that someone ended up upgrading to a new saw and chose to not transfer the TS-LS system they had, but hadn't yet sold the Incra fence. It was metric, so he doubted he could sell it…but there is a metric-to-imperial screw conversion kit you can buy for the LS-17, 25, &32 (not the LS-52) (32 conversion here-https://www.incrementaltools.com/product_p/parts-misc12.htm), so it may solve your immediate needs if you can find a used metric version for sale and want to go imperial.

I've been lurking here (and elsewhere) for years. I've never heard of the Vega anywhere else before, and have zero experience in the wild (but I'm so inexperienced that's to be expected).

Hope that helps.
 
#21 ·
I agree with Jim, cheap saws biggest issue is the fence, but unless it has a riving knife, I would be looking to replace it anyway.

...

Followers may notice my comments on riving knives. There is a reason. Personal experience that I can say is luck I was not seriously injured. I don t blame the times I had a near miss with no splitter, but the closest two times, I had the blade guard/splitter in place!

- tvrgeek
Not the same, I know (through-cut versus groove/dado), but you can at least add a splitter to your existing zero-clearance TS insert: https://www.microjig.com/collections/mj-splitter

Just a thought.
 
#22 ·
I have a Vega Pro 40 mounted on a Craftsman contractor table saw. I also have a Wixely DRO mounted on the fence. I can get repeatability to 0.005" without the bump-bump…

The Incra is a good fence, but for my application was not a good fit. The bar that sticks out to the right of the saw is a no no for me. Just how I need to store my equipment.
 
#24 ·
I have a Vega Pro 40 mounted on a Craftsman contractor table saw. I also have a Wixely DRO mounted on the fence. I can get repeatability to 0.005" without the bump-bump…

...

- dschlic1
I've seen the Incra TS-LS stored, and store my router table Incra router table LS-25 setup, with the Incra fence not fully extended. So this is a non-issue.

The only issue will be when you are using it…if you want to go the non-working-end-of-the-table route (CounterClockWise), you'll have to slide it 'closed'...or just go CW. Going around the long way to make this an issue seems a bit much to me, and I have a small 'shop' (AKA my garage). So, unless bolted-down existing gear or piles of crap forces a non-optimal placement for your RT/TS-with-Incra-LS, another non-issue.

DROs' repeatability is only repeatable to within the tolerance of the DRO (+/-). That's probably close enough, but it would bug me (maybe not anyone else) enough to sand/shave. They're also almost all made in China (after 2020, a No-go for me).

I have a Shop Fox, and the fence is accurate enough… Had a Ridgid Contractor saw before that, and it was accurate enough. I ve been tap-tap-tapping table saw fences professionally for close to 4 decades now.

I m tired of it.

...
- Axis39
Maybe you'll be like dschlic1, maybe you'll be like the overwhelming majority (even after decades of experience like Axis39) and tap-tap/bump-bump…in real-life and on internet videos I just haven't seen anyone be set and done. Not once. Unless I quickly get that good with it, for me (maybe not anyone else), tap-tapping will be endlessly annoying. Lots of folks have said the Woodpecker Rip-Flip gets rid of all that on Biesemeyer-style fences. I'm grateful for their $.02.

Only Sam_Bone (OP) knows how much this tapping/repeatability (lack thereof) would bug him.
 
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