Replies

1. 
   JohnWW | May 19, 2010 07:28pm | #1

   Don't be insulted by this, but are you sure you are turning the chuck in the proper direction which is often the opposite of most threads?  I've made this mistake on occasion with machines that I was totally familiar with.  If you are turning it in the proper direction it is possible that the threads were worn thin from use and that they have collapsed which would not be good.  Go easy with the mallet the only thing worse than a jammed chuck is a bent shaft or broken bearings.

   Did you notice anything out of the ordinary when you were using the chuck?  Did the bit get jammed while you were cutting a mortise?

1. 
   aurora88 | May 20, 2010 10:37am | #2

   Not insulted at all...

   Of course that was the first thing I thought of. But that is not the problem. I did notice that the last time I used it, last week, it was a little trickier than usual to get off. But I didn't think much about it. When I was actually using it, it ran fine. And although the saw is 15 years old, the mortiser/chuck attachment has not gotten all that much use over the years.

   Thanks for any advice you might have on loosening this.

1. 
   RalphBarker | May 20, 2010 07:57pm | #3

   destuckifier

   You might try a little penetrating oil at the juncture between the chuck and the arbor.

   The ideal, of course, would be to hold the saw up in the air in your left hand, so the chuck is vertical, and then apply a few drops of the penetratig oil with your right hand. But, a drop or two at a time, combined with patience, might be less tiring.  ;-)

2. 
   JohnWW | May 21, 2010 07:31am | #5

   Sounds like...

   It sounds like the threads have failed, I am not familiar enough with this machine to know if this is common, or rare, or if there is another possible explanation, although I can't think of any other likely cause.  Your comment that the chuck was a bit trickier than usual to get off last week does suggest a thread problem.  

   At this point there may not be a good fix, the failed threads can be so locked up that the chuck will never unthread.  My first thought would be to just leave the chuck on permanently if it doesn't impair using the machine.  If the chuck has to removed it may require disassembling the machine, removing the arbor and having the chuck disassembled as much as possible and then machining away the remainder on a lathe, an expensive proposition and the threading on the arbor will probably need further work to allow you to mount a new chuck.  If you can find a replacement arbor that would be a much simpler way to go, but Inca parts are of course hard to find and expensive.

   You should first try getting the chuck to free up by applying some penetrating oil and gently trying to get it to break loose over several days but that is probably a long shot.

   I believe that there is a web site created for owners of Inca tools, perhaps someone there has solved this problem and can give you detailed advice on how to deal with this.   Hopefully there is a simpler to fix because the source of the problem is something that I have not thought of.

2. 
   Zmonster | May 21, 2010 04:23am | #4

   The two things I would do are:

   1.  Check out the Inca Group at Yahoo Forums.  Someone there may have had a similar problem in the past.

   2.  Call Jesse at Eagle Tools in LA.

   3027 Treadwell Street, Los Angeles, CA  90065

   323-999-2909  •  Fax 323-999-2920

   I'm not sure from where you're writing, but if it is somewhere in the West, even though you purchased it from G-W, it probably shipped from Eagle.  Of course, if you're on the East Coast, ignore that, but the point is that Jesse knows the tools well.

1. 
   aurora88 | May 22, 2010 06:33pm | #6

   Success!

   I got it off! Thanks for all the suggestions. I took the side panel off and used a pipe wrench on the chuck. That did the trick.