After coveting one of Inca’s excellent small bandsaws for several years, Inca no longer seems viable – witness Garrett Wade’s decision to quit selling them.
QUESTION: Who makes a small, high-quality, bandsaws of the caliber Inca used to make?
This small bandsaw will fill a niche between the scroll saw and a 24-inch bandsaw, and will be used largely to make small parts used in lutherie, and for occasions when I want to take a small bandsaw with me when I work in the field, so resawing and other uses best reserved for larger machines aren’t a consideration.
Thanks for your recommendations,
Paul
Replies
A few years ago, I bought the Inca (a 340) after concluding that no one else seemed to be making anything in the same size and quality range. I didn't have much room for a saw, and a benchtop seemed especially crucial. The Ryobi and Craftsman saws were way too flimsy, and even the pricier Delta 10" and 9" saws didn't seem great.
That bandsaw remains one of my favorite tools to use. I had a problem with the (plastic) dust collection and the blade scraping, which made it noisy, but that wasn't hard to fix. It cuts beautifully, and stays adjusted once I get it set up. While I might someday get a bigger bandsaw (as my imperial ambitions in my basement play out), I expect the Inca to be part of my shop permanently. I should probably stock up on the bearings, which I think are custom; blades are just 73.5" and cool blocks are available.
Everyone else seems fixated on the 14" bandsaws - not a bad size, especially with the riser block, but not what I was looking for. I don't really expect anyone to fill the gap Inca's left behind, though maybe another importer will step up. You can find Incas on ebay somewhat regularly and I think they're still selling them in Europe.
Paul,
If you read the message at Garrett Wade's website, you'll see that their decision to discontinue selling Inca machinery has nothing to do with product viability. Rather, to try to become more "competitive", Inca made a decision to lessen the quality of their machinery, and GW does not care to sell these new machines.
You may want to check with GW - perhaps they still have one or two left in the warehouse.
Inca is still available in Europe, but these are the new, cheaper models.
Jeff
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