# Vega Pro 40 on a 4512



## rbk123 (Jan 10, 2013)

Although I was happy with the stock fence on the 4512, I happen to not be too far away from the Vega factory. Randy, the #2 guy there (super cool dude), made me a deal for coming out to visit the factory and get it that I couldn't pass up. I do wish I would have brought my camera because that place was a fascinating view of manufacturing history.


Here is the box I lugged into the basement where it sat for a couple of months while I finished a flooring project. The wait was pure agony:









My starting point with the stock fence:









Attaching the fence was a breeze. For the rear rail I was able to use one of the pre-existing mounting holes but had to drill a new one for the second mount point.









Next step - attach my outfeed table. Both rails on the Vega had 2 steel plates (each) bolted on that are meant to support an extension wing. I only needed the 2 at the end since I didn't need the middle 2 to support the CI wing I have.









Then for the outfeed table anchoring points, I attached the 2 unneeded plates to be rear facing. The left plate used the existing holes, I just turned it to face outwards. The right plate I drilled and tapped 2 new mounting holes. I cut some wood shims that I use to control the table height as well as secure the table to the saw.








And attached:









Since the Pro 40 rails were longer than the stock rails I had more space and so I built a new extension instead of reusing the old one. Here is the final product:









I still need to route mitre slots in the outfeed but I'll do that when I actually need them. The fence is amazing; it is so overbuilt it's like industrial art. I don't foresee ever replacing the 4512 as I am far too fond of it's performance (particularly after converting it to 220V), however if I do (I am a tool acquiring junkie) I will always put the Vega on the new saw. After using the micro-adjust, there's no going back for me.

Vega is actually a small shop from a personnel standpoint. Randy runs the factory but also does all the tech support personally. He's second only to the owner and yet he carried the boxed Pro 40 and loaded it in my car personally! They don't make them like him anymore.


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## d_slat (Apr 10, 2012)

Did converting it to 220 really make that much difference? I have a 4512 myself and I was thinking about changing it to 220 but I wasn't sure if it will be worth it. How does it perform differently?


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## knotscott (Nov 8, 2007)

d_slat said:


> Did converting it to 220 really make that much difference? I have a 4512 myself and I was thinking about changing it to 220 but I wasn't sure if it will be worth it. How does it perform differently?


Every circuit is a different, so the results will be different for every situation. Depending on the particulars of your given circuit, your motor, and how well the circuit is able to supply full amperage under heavy load, 220v tends to have less voltage drop because the load is shared across two hot leads instead of one. On a marginal 110v circuit (which is a lot of them), switching to 220v can result in faster startups and faster recovery times from lugging, which in turn can make the saw seem more powerful (truth is that it's doing what it should have been doing all along....to be clear, there is no horsepower gain by switching, just the perception that the motor is snappier....there's also no significant electricity cost savings). The motor may also run cooler on a 220v circuit, because voltage drops can cause excess heat to the motor coils, which can in turn help the motor last longer. 

If you have 220v readily available, there's minimal cost and risk to your saw in making the switch. If 220v is not readily available, whether or not to pursue it would depend largely on how well the saw is performing on the current 110v circuit....if all is well, it's probably not worth doing....a suitable 110v circuit should be fine.

Congrats on the new fence!


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## Dandan111 (Oct 29, 2013)

Nice set up!


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## kkalin78 (Dec 20, 2012)

d_slat said:


> Did converting it to 220 really make that much difference? I have a 4512 myself and I was thinking about changing it to 220 but I wasn't sure if it will be worth it. How does it perform differently?


I use R4512 with 220v. So far I don't remember any single example when saw was struggling to rip a stock (even resawing 4 inch hard-maple board). I have good rip blades. But I used the saw on 100v for 30 minutes (rewired it almost at same day of assembly). So I could not say if there is a difference for sure.


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## rbk123 (Jan 10, 2013)

d_slat said:


> Did converting it to 220 really make that much difference? I have a 4512 myself and I was thinking about changing it to 220 but I wasn't sure if it will be worth it. How does it perform differently?


What changed for me:
- faster startup
- quicker recovery
- harder to bog down in tougher/longer cuts
Overall just runs smoother.


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