Inca bandsaw

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The correct length is 73"" (~ 1854 mm). What is the smallest radius bend that that you will want to cut?
 
BillK":2cuw35k3 said:
Hi all,
A neighbour gave me an Inca, a Swiss one. It's a bit grubby but I'm sorting it out. The thrust rollers were manky, I got some skateboard bearings which are dead-on for size and very cheap.

I measured the broken blade on it which matches the 1854mm mentioned here, the manual says different sizes, confusingly - this is my first bandsaw so it's all very new. I'll need some blades, from this thread it looks like Tuffsaws is the place to go. I'll mainly be slicing guitar bodies, about 40mm thick, getting close to a template outline for final routing. Any recommendations on a blade spec? I've no clue what would be the right sort of thing -

cheers
Bill

Send Ian at Tuffsaws exactly what you have written here and he will advise the best for your application. He has never steered me wrong.

Also Steve Maskery's excellent bandsaw setup DVD is a must if you want to get the best out of your saw...it's worth its weight in gold.

http://www.workshopessentials.com/shop/

Nice bandsaw!

Cheers

Jimi
 
jimi43":1y1lv1fs said:
BillK":1y1lv1fs said:
Hi all,
A neighbour gave me an Inca, a Swiss one. It's a bit grubby but I'm sorting it out. The thrust rollers were manky, I got some skateboard bearings which are dead-on for size and very cheap.

I measured the broken blade on it which matches the 1854mm mentioned here, the manual says different sizes, confusingly - this is my first bandsaw so it's all very new. I'll need some blades, from this thread it looks like Tuffsaws is the place to go. I'll mainly be slicing guitar bodies, about 40mm thick, getting close to a template outline for final routing. Any recommendations on a blade spec? I've no clue what would be the right sort of thing -

cheers
Bill

Send Ian at Tuffsaws exactly what you have written here and he will advise the best for your application. He has never steered me wrong.

Also Steve Maskery's excellent bandsaw setup DVD is a must if you want to get the best out of your saw...it's worth its weight in gold.

http://www.workshopessentials.com/shop/

Nice bandsaw!

Cheers

Jimi

I'm sure that the DVD is as good as you say. However the Inca has a flat tyre not a crowned one and the blade should run with the teeth off the front edge of it not on the tyre. This is possibly unique to this saw so all the part dealing with tracking and drift do not apply to the Inca and if you try to use that system you will wear out the tyres prematurely. .
 
Hello all, has anyone here made modification on the blade guide, instead of blocks, to install bearings like this https://www.amazon.com/Carter-Products- ... earing+kit

I attached a picture of my current system, but I believe with bearings will greatly improve. I was wondering if anyone made this already. I was thinking if a machinist can do such modification or make new one.
 

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That's too much money for these blocks. Mine, that are original, seem good. I don't know what those ceramics would improve in comparison with the original ones?
 
I have the originals that are easily reground if necessary - I agree they are fine. I added the ceramic blocks as they are stated to stay cool and therefore not move and get worn away - in my case it is early days, but I was happy with the upgrade for a relatively small outlay.

I have also acquired recently the fretsaw guides that take a 3mm blade - they comprise a pair of wheels (upper and lower) with a fine slot in which the back of the blade engages - these guides are fitted only to the left hand horizontal guide post. I have yet to try these.

Cheers
 
That's good to know, thanks. It seems like it's new, because when I was searching few years ago when I bought the Band Saw it was not so.
 
I brought some lignum vitae wood and made a few of my own guide blocks. The original ones were short and the original owner had not set them up right. Very cheap way of doing it. Plus its self lubricating wood. Used to be used for ship bearings I believe.

They do not last as long as metal ones but I can have them just touching the blade and still have it running super quiet.
 
Any lubrication that way, I doubt would last long. Get the guides a paper width spaced away and you should be good
 
As the owner of an Inca bandsaw from new out of interest I have just scanned through 13 pages of this old thread.
I have no desire to comment on what others have said and am not going to enter into a debate on bandsaw set up, not all bandsaws are the same and even the same model of saw from the same supplier will need to be set up differently to get best results.
In my experience of the Inca saw if it is fitted with a good quality sharp blade tensioned and tracked properly the side guides serve little purpose, they are only there to compensate for a dull blade or too fast a feed rate causing the cut to drift.
 
woodworkingMK":3jdjn9rs said:
Hello all, has anyone here made modification on the blade guide, instead of blocks, to install bearings like this https://www.amazon.com/Carter-Products- ... earing+kit

I attached a picture of my current system, but I believe with bearings will greatly improve. I was wondering if anyone made this already. I was thinking if a machinist can do such modification or make new one.

SWMBO bought an Inca 205 that came without any guides, or the rise/fall mechanism that they attach to. Out of necessity I made new guides:

fixing-an-inca-205-bandsaw-t105540.html

I don't doubt though that the original guides (if fitted!) do an acceptable job
 
woodworkingMK":28wkq9vy said:
The pictures are not available :(

Do you mean in the thread I linked above? I re-hosted the duff photos, you need to scroll about 15 posts in......
 
Bringing up a semi-old thread here. I recently bought a Inca Euro 260 myself after finding a lot of good information in this thread and others.
I am hoping to learn even more and get some good tips from the Inca groups forum. https://groups.io/g/incawoodworking
I sent a subscription request 3 weeks ago, but still no approval. Does anyone on this forum also frequent on the groups.io forum? Maybe you have contacts that could expediate this process a little?

Anyways, my saw is a 1991 model(motor tag date), looks like it has been standing still for a while. I got it by mail so before my first startup I did a mini-tear down of the saw and regreased bearings and checked essential parts, no big problems except some surface rust and old sawdust. I really like the saw design, and based on my short ownership it seems like a very capable machine.

Couple of questions from a band-saw rookie:

- The tires are feeling their age; i.e. rubber is a bit hard, but they look to be intact without any noticable cracks. I found urethane tires on ebay for this saw, does this type of tire actually give any performance upgrades, or is it a "one-for-one" replacement with better durability?

- My motivation for getting a band-saw is to be able to resaw wood and have a stationary saw for a quick, easy and flexible cutting solution in the shop. How many and which types of blades should one have for a band-saw? I can probably find a million answers for this question. So if someone can narrow it down for me for this specific saw it would be great.

- I don't have the rip-fence or mitre-fence, nor the bracket for the rip-fence. Does anyone have a good recipe for a DIY rip fence for this specific saw?
 

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I fitted urethane tyres, and I can't say I noticed any big difference.
Re. blades, as almost everyone else will tell you, contact Ian at Tuffsaw, and tell him what sort of things you hope to do, and he will advise you.
 
I am another devotee of the Inca, also having the French model.

Just a point to note in setting up. Most of the instructions you will find refer to the drive wheels being crowned so that the blade rides onto the middle of the wheel. The Incas are flat, and should be set up so the the teeth protrude slightly (by the depth of the teeth) over the edge.

You can buy new guides, metal or ceramic, but lignum vitae wood that you cut yourself works very well.

You are lucky to have the mitre fence. Mine is missing and they are like hen's teeth. One can't use a standard guide either as the guid slot is trapezoidal not square. If anyone has a source for the trapezoidal section that fits in, please let me know!

I find the rip fence the weakest part of the design, but i suspect that different variants have been used in its history. I haven't found a good replacement yet. That is difficult as the table is smaller than the mainstream bandsaws. I tried the Axminster small rip fence but that wasn't satisfactory. Someday I will get down to making a smaller version of Steve Maskery's fence design (see his videos) with a fitting that can easily be removed to allow blade changes.

I have a coarse 1/2" blade for resawing and a 1/4" blade for doing curvy bits.

Keith
 

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