FOR SALE - INCA Combi machine

[ike]

My father has an INCA combi machine (badged "Startrite Mini"). Bought in the early '70's. Table saw with wobble washers, mortice attachment and planer with thicknesser attachment. 3/4 hp motor (from memory).

He doesn't use it anymore. He'll happily part with it for a modest sum. Offers welcome. Collection only I'm afraid due to size and weight. If anyone is interested, please PM me.

Location: Nailsworth, Gloucestershire

Ike

 

[frugal]

Nnnnggghh!!! I am about 5 minutes down the road, but SWMBO would murder me if I spent any money after seeing the bank statement this month :evil:

 

[woodbloke]

Nnnnggghh!!! I am about 5 minutes down the road, but SWMBO would murder me if I spent any money after seeing the bank statement this month :evil:

F - not wishing to be a slope pusher...but that might be too good to miss :wink: - Rob

 

[frugal]

F - not wishing to be a slope pusher...but that might be too good to miss :wink: - Rob

SWMBO said she will only injure me.

PM sent

 

[Tierney]

'Injure' could mean a scratch or perhaps a bruise; something you could recover from.

It's words like 'maim' and 'murder' you want to worry about.

DT

 

[frugal]

Popped over to Nailsworth today to see Ike and his father. I may have accidentally taken a pocket full of cash with me as well

It was a lovely old machine, dusty and a little rusty in places but a lovely machine none the less. Unfortunately at some point during the conversation it seems to accidentally fall into the back of the car :twisted: :twisted:

The machine has Inca emblazoned on all of the parts, but it also has a StartRite sticker on the front.

Planer on the far left; mortiser on the right and the table saw in the middle raised up. All of the tables are aluminum so there is no rusting or pitting to worry about. The only problem with it is that the motor starts up and then immediately dies. The shaft goes around freely, there is just some problem with the motor that needs looking at (why I married an electrical engineer ) The whole motor mechanism moves from one side of the machine to the other in order to move from Saw/Morticer to Planer Thicknesser.

The Thicknesser is interesting as it is a hood the goes over the top of the planer (the item on the floor in front of the machine). As you still pass the wood over the planner, I am not sure how accurate it is going to be at getting the two faces parallel, but it will be fun finding out.

the table saw looks to be exactly the same one as the Jim recently restored, even down to the odd sized arbor. the table is about 18" by 18" and the extension wing can be mounted on either the left or right side of the table. Like Jim's the blade stays in position and the table tilts and goes up and down around it.

The mortiser is not a chisel mortiser, rather it is a router mortiser, where you move the table in and out and fore and back against a router style bit held in the drill chuck... So it is the worlds biggest Domino :twisted:

The planer on the left hand side looks sturdy, the fence and guard are both solid.

So a big thank you from me to Ike and his dad, I am sure that I will get many years of service from it.

Oh, and whilst stopping for a coffee in town I might have accidentally picked up a 22" wooden jointer plane with a 4mm thick 2" wide blade in a charity shop

 

[WellsWood]

My, aren't you the "accident" prone one then. :wink:

 

[big soft moose]

My, aren't you the "accident" prone one then. :wink:

lol - ive been accidentally looking at the axminster site again , "thankfully" the appearance of swimbo stopped the tragic misfortune of entering my credit card number and averted the catastrophic purchase of "tools i dont need"

 

[ike]

So a big thank you from me to Ike and his dad, I am sure that I will get many years of service from it.

Thank you for giving it a new home! Dad was pleased too, so everyone's a winner! Look forward to seeing it looking 'new' again.

BTW, I'll ask Dad to root about for the user manual - I'm positive he still has it - somewhere (you've seen the size of the place)!. Also we didn,t sort out the pile of blades before you came. There might be some serviceable ones I can find for you.

Ike

 

[jimi43]

WOW...maybe we could start a club Frugal....nice score and wonderful to see you and Ike showing that this forum is JUST what it is all about...passing things on so that they get another lease of life! Wonderful!

Obviously this comes from the Startrite dealership in Kent as mentioned in my thread...it is great to see one like this. I am sure that the INCA group on Yahoo (again mentioned in my thread) would LOVE to see pictures posted.

I think owners of these machines are a bit like the classic car brigade in they we are a bit quirky but the stuff we have is gorgeous! The more I play with mine the more I am falling in love with it.

I am now on the market for a morticer...to attach to my Startrite base...apparently these things are the best morticers ever and are highly sought after in the States. They can cut mortices at any angle and as you say...they are more like a giant router morticer than anything else.

I would love to see some pictures after you have dusted her off.

Just a tip if you want one....the "aluminium cleaner" from Machine Mart which is a few quid in a bottle is GREAT stuff for cleaning up ali tops. Be VERY careful though...it is quite concentrated Phosphoric Acid and you need to wear goggles and gloves! Makes a wonderful job of clearing up rust too!

Cheers

Jim

 

[ike]

Dad bought it from Sargents in Swindon. I remember they also sold the Inca "Startrite Maxi" combi at that time. That was a really nice bit of kit but it was very expensive - something over £1000 - more than Dad could afford.

It's easy to forget how relatively expensive woodwork machinery was in those days, but Inca was the Rolls-Royce for the home market and with the Swiss Franc being so strong.

 

[Alex]

hi Frugal, nice find. The mortiser is what is known as a slot mortiser. You need to check whether the mortiser turns clockwise or anti to get left or right hand bits. You can get them here https://shop.felder-gruppe.at/felder/sh ... p_cuid=221
They work alright but the small bits are prone to breaking and potentially lethal due to lack of guarding. The clamping table is to small for long lengths and needs some sort of extra support for the work piece otherwise the joints aren't cut accurate. I had one on the side of my combi,comes off the planer, but ended up taking it off as I walked into the sticky out bits one to many times!!! There's defiantly easier and safer ways of cutting mortises.

Alex

 

[wizer]

I was just going to say that I liked that morticer idea on this. It's like the MultiRouter which is mega bucks. Is the movement smooth? Does it move X Y and Z?

 

[frugal]

I was just going to say that I liked that morticer idea on this. It's like the MultiRouter which is mega bucks. Is the movement smooth? Does it move X Y and Z?

The movement is nice and smooth. I have not checked to see if it moves in Y direction (up and down). There are adjustable stops to restrict the movement of the table and two hold downs.

 

[frugal]

hi Frugal, nice find. The mortiser is what is known as a slot mortiser. You need to check whether the mortiser turns clockwise or anti to get left or right hand bits.

Thinking about it logically, as the shaft of the morticer is the same piece of metal as the shaft of the saw (they both go around at the same time), it must be an anti clockwise rotation as it will be determined by the direction of the saw blade rotation.

 

[woodbloke]

Nice to see your still able to type despite the injuries that were threatened...or are you hitting the keys with just one hand :lol: :lol: - Rob

 

[jimi43]

hi Frugal, nice find. The mortiser is what is known as a slot mortiser. You need to check whether the mortiser turns clockwise or anti to get left or right hand bits.

Thinking about it logically, as the shaft of the morticer is the same piece of metal as the shaft of the saw (they both go around at the same time), it must be an anti clockwise rotation as it will be determined by the direction of the saw blade rotation.

You are correct!

Jim

 

[jimi43]

Bump for frugal to get more pictures up there! A couple of things entered my head today....

First the table appears to be missing the micro adjuster. That is a simple but effective affair...will describe if you want.

Second...how does the dust extraction work below the table on yours?

Cheers

Jim

 

[frugal]

Second...how does the dust extraction work below the table on yours?

There are two big square holes in the top of the cabinet with an angled piece of metal that leads to two big square holes in the back. Less dust extraction, more dust chute.

You would have to bolt a cover plate with a nozzle on the back if you wanted to do any kind of dust extraction. It would not be two difficult, a plate of metal with a short length of tube welded to it and some holes for mounting.

 

[jimi43]

Ah...then it is the same as my base...and strangely the chute works brilliantly...just stick a bucket under it! Very little tends to come out the top...

Very neat system all in all!

Jim