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You can contact Vega, they were really good about supplying a replacement bushing when I had the same problem with mine a couple of years ago.
You can loosen the chain tension, but that helps only if you cut from the tailstock toward the head. As soon as you reverse and cut towards the tail you pull the tension back onto the bushing. Sorry guys, but I prefer to cut from the thickest diameter down to minimize tear-out. That means on most plugs starting in the center and working toward either end, so you have to cut in both directions.
While too much chain tension only makes it worse, no matter what you end up dragging the uneven sides of the chain over the bushing. Steel versus soft bronze, and the chain wins every time by cutting grooves into the bushing.
Its really a shortcoming of the design. There could have been an idler sprocket there like on a bicycle, but I'll bet that would have cost more and just forced Vega to raise the price even higher.
Mine actually got quite a bit worse before I caught it. Decided that since it is wearing part I would swap it out for something I could find supplied locally to make replacement easier. My local Lowes carries bronze bushings in the hardware department but only in slightly larger sizes, so I tapped mine out for 1/4-20. I used a partially threaded screw and cut down the bronze bushing so it only rides on the unthreaded part of the bolt. Works better but still no substitute for a true idler.
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