Inca bandsaw

[John Brown]

It looks as if the user that did the damage was a gorilla, and by the other damage didn’t know or care how to set all 3 guides.

My guide holders do not have the open section so even gorilla strength wouldn’t split them, they are almost certainly an older version than yours.

The guides are cast so bending will not work. It’s worthwhile seeing if it can be brazed, if it can then add a strip of steel as well to strengthen the join. The set screw, that had ridiculous amount of force used on it, only needs to be tight enough to hold the guide in place

the original guides blocks are steel.

madness is comparing the cost of a replacement part, they are in limited supply, to the price you paid for a second hand machine.

if the only faulty part is £75 and the machine cost £50. Then the real question is. Is a fully working machine worth £125? Since my answer to that is, of course £125 is a OK price given the tat that is sold for more than that. You got lucky with the price you paid, the bandsaw in good working condition is worth at least double to 3 times the price you paid. However you may think it too much.

Now that doesn’t mean that you need to pay that much if you have the skill (or know someone with the skill) to fabricate a repair, just that comparing the cost to you of the machine to parts needed isn't useful.

My saw is fine, thanks.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

My saw is fine, thanks.

But ekynoxe’s saw guides are not

 

[John Brown]

But ekynoxe’s saw guides are not

Got it. So my musings on the price of new guides are somewhat irrelevant. Just saying.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Got it. So my musings on the price of new guides are somewhat irrelevant. Just saying.

As in not very relevant to ekynoxe’s problem just a bit.

My quoting also wasn’t as clear as it could be, but then threads do get a bit confused at times.

The point on sunk costs (price already spent) not being of much (any) relevance to the cost of a repair is still a point that many people overlook when considering if they should go ahead, look for an alternative or just quit. So not necessarily of any relevance to you directly but to the idea in general. My phrasing may have implied something I didn’t intend.

 

[ekynoxe]

the original guides blocks are steel.

madness is comparing the cost of a replacement part, they are in limited supply, to the price you paid for a second hand machine.

if the only faulty part is £75 and the machine cost £50. Then the real question is. Is a fully working machine worth £125? Since my answer to that is, of course £125 is a OK price given the tat that is sold for more than that. You got lucky with the price you paid, the bandsaw in good working condition is worth at least double to 3 times the price you paid. However you may think it too much.

Now that doesn’t mean that you need to pay that much if you have the skill (or know someone with the skill) to fabricate a repair, just that comparing the cost to you of the machine to parts needed isn't useful.

This is a fair point. I paid £350 for mine (£50 was John’s), and given the overall condition, is still not a bad price. I hadn’t seen the state of the holders, especially the cracked one. Difficult to do in someone’s garage on the fly.
The saw did run alright at the time.

Just to be clear, I was merely asking the community of really knowledgeable folks you are if there are other purchase options for these guide holders. If not, that’s fine, I’ll buy some replacements.

I can also try to learn how to braze… Lost for lost, there’s something to learn.

that’s the only thing that seems wrong on the machine.

 

[ekynoxe]

You do realise that the extension section you have for the mitre gauge means that at the moment you have the gauge on the wrong side of the machine, don’t you?

I have everything to learn about this one! Hence joining forums and asking the experienced owners

All this will become apparent once the machine is cleaned up and rebuilt. I don’t think it needs much.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

This is a fair point. I paid £350 for mine (£50 was John’s), and given the overall condition, is still not a bad price. I hadn’t seen the state of the holders, especially the cracked one. Difficult to do in someone’s garage on the fly.
The saw did run alright at the time.

Just to be clear, I was merely asking the community of really knowledgeable folks you are if there are other purchase options for these guide holders. If not, that’s fine, I’ll buy some replacements.

I can also try to learn how to braze… Lost for lost, there’s something to learn.

that’s the only thing that seems wrong on the machine.

I would suggest that you look around your local area and see if there are any little workshops and ask them if they can do it for you, it’ll probably cost a couple of beers or be free. It’s a tiny job but not one I’d like to try for my first. I’ve done some brazing and welding and because that part is so small it’s very easy to stuff it up if you don’t have the skill.
if you get someone to fix it you can see if they will add in a piece to close the gap, I can see no benefit to it, the earlier machines didn’t have it.

I would consider the price you paid is OK, John’s a lucky (bugger this word is going to get a stupid bad language edit it should read b*u****er I have no idea why it chose pipper F*F*S) to get his virtually free. Yours does look in good nick. You may need to replace the tension spring, you won’t know until you start using it. I had to do that with mine, I had no possibility of getting the exact part so I got a longer spring that had the same dimensions & cut it down to fit. It’s probably a bit stiffer than the original but is working perfectly.

 

[John Brown]

I would suggest that you look around your local area and see if there are any little workshops and ask them if they can do it for you, it’ll probably cost a couple of beers or be free. It’s a tiny job but not one I’d like to try for my first. I’ve done some brazing and welding and because that part is so small it’s very easy to stuff it up if you don’t have the skill.
if you get someone to fix it you can see if they will add in a piece to close the gap, I can see no benefit to it, the earlier machines didn’t have it.

I would consider the price you paid is OK, John’s a lucky (pipper this word is going to get a stupid bad language edit it should read b*u****er I have no idea why it chose pipper F*F*S) to get his virtually free. Yours does look in good nick. You may need to replace the tension spring, you won’t know until you start using it. I had to do that with mine, I had no possibility of getting the exact part so I got a longer spring that had the same dimensions & cut it down to fit. It’s probably a bit stiffer than the original but is working perfectly.

I would be interested in details of your spring solution. I suspect my spring is in the autumn of its days.

 

[bobcat]

Green Hammerite was the original colour of mine so you may have just reverted back. The guide block faces can be smoothed in the same way that you would sharpen a plane, all you need to do is make sure you maintain the original angle, if the sides have been mangled by the holding screws just flatten them in the same way. The guide blocks should be long enough to regrind the faces many times (lower guides) and they are reversable.

The table never slid smoothly. Paste wax almost every where will help. I can probably count the number of times I have tilted my table on the fingers of one hand. I should probably check mine and disassemble my table (I never have).

The thrust bearing that is badly scraped and partly ceased will be the top and if you cant get it off then just swap it with the bottom. That one will be in near mint condition. BTW if you do get it off and get a replacement could you give me the detail of the bearing? I should do mine too.

It isn't clear from your photo the condition of the upper guide bar plate, the one you tighten it against. This should be about 1/4" steel and flat. You can see it in the 3rd photo on my website here. If it's not flat then flatten it. & if it's not flat this is probably due to the fact that the original design was for a thin, light aluminium blade guard (on the table in No.10 No.11 No.12) and yours is a later version and steel.

BTW I see you have an original Elu router table. Do you have the complete router accessory set that it's part of? With the clamps it makes a nice horizontal table.

The bearings for these saws are available from any uk bearing supplier, i have re bearinged many inca machines over the years of repairing woodworking machines all well nearly all bearings are marked with a unique number so it is easy to identify them Regards Bobcat

 

[bobcat]

The bearings for these saws are available from any uk bearing supplier, i have re bearinged many inca machines over the years of repairing woodworking machines all well nearly all bearings are marked with a unique number so it is easy to identify them Regards Bobcat

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I would be interested in details of your spring solution. I suspect my spring is in the autumn of its days.

I’ll keep a lookout for where the original spring and the spare and cut off pieces are. But don’t hold your breath as once the replacement was fitted I knew it would be years if ever that I would need them so they got put in a convenient place that I may not find for a while.

Thailand is an interesting country many things are impossible to find but for hardware it’s a different story, there’s a shop in the nearest city that specialises in springs, I took the old one out went to the shop and picked up 2 that looked to be a reasonable match (they cost about ฿120 = £2.50 AFIR) , wire size, coil separation, inner and outer diameter and quite a bit longer, I then cut one to a little bit longer than the existing one flattened the cut end by grinding and it worked, so the original other spring and cut bit was then consigned to a safe place and that will be the last place I think to look, I hope my spare planer blades are in the same place as I’ve been looking for them for about a year or so

I can take the top wheel off if you want a view of the new spring. The tension screw is sitting a bit higher now when the tension is off maybe 5~10mm as in this pic. I can now easily tension the widest blades I have, before I couldn’t get a 3/4 inch tight enough. This is no tension

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I would be interested in details of your spring solution. I suspect my spring is in the autumn of its days.

To my amazement I found the extra springs, I must have got 3 I think maybe 2 of the thicker ones or maybe 3 different ones

as you can see one end is just cut off and would need sanding/grinding

 

[sometimewoodworker]

The bearings for these saws are available from any uk bearing supplier, i have re bearinged many inca machines over the years of repairing woodworking machines all well nearly all bearings are marked with a unique number so it is easy to identify them Regards Bobcat

Do you realise that you are quoting a post from 10 years ago? Also that I was replying to another user and their machine, that for me a trip to a UK supplier would probably be a 4 day round trip even without quarantine then it potentially would be at least 4 weeks !!!

 

[ekynoxe]

A quick update: my saw works rather well!

I think I do need new blades though, as the ones I got with it, although "feeling" sharp, probably didn't like the rust removal process, and I'm burning through white oak even on straight lines.

Also @sometimewoodworker I do feel like I'll also need to replace the spring as I have to crank the tension all the way past 5 to get a nice ping of the blade and guide it properly. (with the 9mm blade)

One question for the group: does anyone have the fretsaw components? Are they plastic or metal? for cuts like I have here, it might be better but wondering if it's possible to actually make the guides rather than buy them at top dollar.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

A quick update: my saw works rather well!

I think I do need new blades though, as the ones I got with it, although "feeling" sharp, probably didn't like the rust removal process, and I'm burning through white oak even on straight lines.

Also @sometimewoodworker I do feel like I'll also need to replace the spring as I have to crank the tension all the way past 5 to get a nice ping of the blade and guide it properly. (with the 9mm blade)

One question for the group: does anyone have the fretsaw components? Are they plastic or metal? for cuts like I have here, it might be better but wondering if it's possible to actually make the guides rather than buy them at top dollar.

I suggest sharpening the blades, this is an easy way, you will be amazed at the improvement.

Also you may not need to tension a little less.

Yes I have the fretsaw guides and they are metal. I doubt that they are at all easy to make youself

 

[Eric R]

If you search for "inca machines" you'll find an outfit in France that sells sells part for Inca machines. In the States, Eagle tools in LA also has lots of parts and Jessie is very knowledgable about the line too.

 

[ekynoxe]

If you search for "inca machines" you'll find an outfit in France that sells sells part for Inca machines. In the States, Eagle tools in LA also has lots of parts and Jessie is very knowledgable about the line too.

Oh I know it's there! Thank you. (Inca | Woodworking Machinery & Accessories)
But at over £70 for a pair of little metal bushings, I wondered if there was a cheaper way to get them. I'm French, so thought it would be cheaper to get them delivered to family there and pick them up later, but it's even more expensive in Euros delivered to an address in France... Go figure!!

 

[ekynoxe]

I suggest sharpening the blades, this is an easy way, you will be amazed at the improvement.

Also you may not need to tension a little less.

Yes I have the fretsaw guides and they are metal. I doubt that they are at all easy to make youself

Thanks Jerome. It looks great, maybe I need to invest in a bench-top grinder, now! Although it will be fiddly to sharpen a 9mm blade at 10 TPI

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Thanks Jerome. It looks great, maybe I need to invest in a bench-top grinder, now! Although it will be fiddly to sharpen a 9mm blade at 10 TPI

I would not sharpen a 10 TPI blade. I have also seen it done with a Dremel and cutoff disk with the blade on the saw.