Inca 570 opinions please

[Craig Stueve]

There is an Inca 570 for sale in my area with an extra set of knives for $500. I have limited shop space and build furniture primarily. At this point my woodworking is strictly a hobby. I currently have a 6" Grizzly jointer and 13" Ryobi portable planer. I like the idea of exchanging 2 machines for 1 and gaining some valuable space back. Additionally a 10" jointer would quite often be very handy.

Other than the relatively short beds and more complicated changeover are there any other big drawbacks to a machine like this?

What are the things I should be looking for when I try out this machine before I would buy it?

Is anyone aware if the blades still available for the Tersa cutter head? If so where?

If anyone has first hand experience with this machine that would be great.

Craig

[Kevin Adams]

Craig--

Where's your area because if it's close to me, I would grab the 570 at that price! If it's in good shape, it could easily go for $1500-2000. As new, it was over $2500 and there is quite a "cult" following out there so the resale value is great.

I have owned several Inca machines over many years and still own three now, including the 510 J/P, a predecessor to the 570. In short, they are very well made machines. They are light duty, but precise. On the down side, they are no longer made so parts are not guaranteed. Eagle Tools in CA has bought out all the spare parts that Garrett Wade used to have. Jesse at Eagle is a great resource, not only for parts, but for advice.

Feel free to contact me off line if you would like more info. I would also strongly suggest that you pose your question on the Inca Yahoo site:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/incawoodworking/

BTW, I just checked that site and if you are referring to the 570 in WI, it's mentioned on the Yahoo site. I would doubt it's even available at this point as there is usually a feeding frenzy once folks know there is one out there.

Good luck,
Kevin

[Jim Becker]

No problem with the Tersa knives...there are several sources. The Inca machine was generally well-liked by folks.

[Wilbur Pan]

I don't have an Inca (drool), but I have a 10" jointer/planer combo machine that was sold by Rikon for a while.

I can say that the changeover on my machine is really not as difficult as many people believe. Also, the "disadvantage" of a shorter bed is also overestimated.

Overall, I'm really satisfied with my machine. I would go for it.

[Eric Derry]

Hi,
The Inca 570 was my only planer/joiner for about ten years and I made quite a bit of furniture with it. When sharp the Tersa blades would leave a tearout free surface on any wood I tried. I never felt the jointer was too short or the planer too narrow. I did melt a plastic gear once by planing wide rough sawn walnut for a few hours without a break. I now own a Delta DJ 20 and a Delta DC-33.I bought a lunchbox planer because I missed the cut quality of the Inca and find the portable to give similar results and now start planing on the delta and make the last pass or two on the lunchbox. I bought my 570 for $1200 and sold it ten years later for the same price. I would jump on that deal. Good luck

[Craig Stueve]

Thanks for all of the responses. I have a got a few pictures of the machine from the seller and will be going to look at it hopefully tomorrow. The more I did around the web and read the more it sounds like this just might be a perfect machine for me. Any more thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Here are the pictures.

Thanks Again,
Craig

[Phil Thien]

I don't have a 5-series, but I do have a 410. This is an 8-5/8" jointer/planer. The same one, I should mention, that Krenov uses.

What it lacks in the toughness of old iron machines it makes up for in finesse. The precision and repeatability are beyond anything else I've tried.

[Don Bullock]

Craig, let us know if you get it. I'll second the comment about Jesse at Eagle Tools in Los Angeles. He's a great guy and ships machines all over the country, not just California.

[Hank Knight]

Craig,

I own an Inca 570. It has been my only jointer/planer for 20 years. I love it. I have a very small shop and the Inca gives me really good performance with a small footprint. I sometimes wish for a longer bed, but the Inca handles 98% of what I do (mostly furniture) with no problem and the 10" capacity is really nice.

As Jim said, the Tersa knives are available. I've replaced mine many times and it couldn't be easier. When sharp, they leave a very smooth finish and I get good life out a set of high speed steel blades. I never tried to quantify how long theyt last, but I don't have to change them often. Carbide blades are available, but they are seriously expensive and I've not felt them necessary.

Inca's weak spot is the plastic gearing for the planer feed mechanism. Like Eric Derry, I melted a set of gears on mine because I didn't keep them lubricated properly. They were easy to replace, but that was 8 or 10 years ago, so I don't know if they are still available. I've been meaning to order an extra set for my machine, but I have never gotten around to it.

The machine also has an unusual belt that drives the feed mechanism. Mine has never failed and I still have the spare that came with my machine. It looks like a non-standard item. For these reasons I would check the gears and the belt on the machine you're looking at. Otherwise they are pretty simple machines. If it's in good shape, I'd grab it in a heartbeat. $500 is a great price.

Hank

Edit:

I just looked at the pictures of your machine. The motor and the switch have been replaced. I Don't know if that is a problem, but I would ask about the replacement. My house got hit by lightning 4 or 5 years ago and one of the casualties was the magnetic switch on my 570. I had a local electric motor service/repair company wire in a new toggle switch (non magnetic) and it works fine. My motor was not damaged.

[walter stellwagen]

if length is a problem Garret Wade used to carry extensions to about 6 feet I don"t know if eagle tools carries them

Walt

[Craig Stueve]

I am going to look at the machine tonight and give it a try. The owner said he would show me all of the operations and functions of the machine. The owner is selling it due to safety concerns caused by failing eyesight. He is the original owner and has all of the paperwork. The motor was replaced about 5 years ago. The original switch had failed and a friend of his "new how to fix it". That fix resulted in the motor frying. He told me that for him at least the new switch setup is much easier to use. I am hoping that the plastic gears which are the apparent weak spot of the design are in good shape.

With any luck I'll have some pictures of my new machine by morning.

I'll also have a jointer and planer for sale.

Craig

[Fred Craven]

YOU WANT TO SEND IT TO MEEEEEE.

You don't feel the need for such a machine.

It's too expensive for you.

I'll gladly take it for you....
----

You know it really sucks that you can't get INCA in the US any more. That Jointer-planer was/is one of the best JPs you can get--without having to go to a massive machine.

I wish I had one. Now days there is a group of enthusiasts who are collecting them, and driving up the price. And, of all the INCA line, the JP is one of the most popular, following the old tilting top table saw. I have the 2200, their big, and last in the US, table saw. It's not near as popular as the jointer planers.

[Gary Curtis]

Eagle Tools (Jesse) usually has an inventory of Inca machines and parts. I bought my entire shop from them-- not Inca. Though I was tempted by one of the Inca Jointer/Planer combos for about $1500. They had two of them in stock when I last visited in March.

Two fellows in my woodworking club in the Los Angeles area had Inca 12" tablesaws. One of them mounted a Robland sliding attachment to his for a really useful piece of equipment. Inca ceased production years ago. In 2005 the furniture shop at the J. Paul Ghetty Museum traded in all their Inca equipment and used Eagle Tool to outfit them with larger scale machines.

Eagle can be reached at 323 999-2909.

Gary Curtis
Northern California

[Jim Becker]

It's good to see that Eagle is in the loop for Inca...there was a really big hole left when Garrett Wade stopped distributing and supporting these tools. My cabinetmaker neighbor has the big bandsaw. It's got a throat that goes practically "forever"!!

[Kevin Adams]

Craig--

So did you pick it up? I looked at the photos and it looks fine. Your only potential issues were the belts (readily available) and the black plastic gear. Please note that these are no longer made. Jesse has a supply of them and he rations them carefully (won't let people buy many at a time). Once his supply runs out, he has discussed finding a local source to manufacture them for him. If you buy the machine (which I recommend you do), I would suggest you buy an extra black gear from Jesse to keep as a spare. Just remember to keep it lubed up with white lithium grease (even if you don't use the machine that much the grease should be refreshed). Like a few others, I melted one when doing a marathon planing session one day.

Let us know what you decided.

Kevin