Wood Working Powertools

Inca and Lini Powertools

Inca 310 Bandsaw
I was in the market for a bandsaw a couple years ago. I wanted a decent quality saw and was looking at Luna and Metabo bandsaws. I came across an Inca Injecta 310 bandsaw online. It was a 4 hour drive but since I needed a bandsaw, I bit the bullet and drove out to pick it up. I knew little about Inca tools at that stage but when I arrived, I knew it was very good quality when I saw the "made in Switzerland" tag.

This is the beast here:

It came with a spare blade, a handful of other accessories including stops and mitre slide etc... It has been a great little saw and I really can't fault it. The only things that have needed attention are the bearings that act as thrust bearings for the blade. They are an open design and have become clogged and damaged over the years. I have also noticed hairline cracks in the plastic case where the knobs attach it to the cast aluminium frame. These cracks will be repaired with epoxy.

If you need a bandsaw and come across one of these little beauties, grab it. It is without a doubt the best quality small bandsaw you can get ( and I have looked at LOTS of small bandsaws). They run quiet, smooth and despite their small motor, they can cut very thick wood because the bade is so thin. Just be sure to have a good quality, sharp bade. I would also recommend ensuring the thrust bearings are checked and you have a good set of blade guides / guide blocks.

Guide blocks for the bandsaw are no longer in production however you can get ceramic guides made for them. I contacted these guys a few years ago and when they agreed to make them, I passed the info on to others:

spaceage ceramic guideblocks

Inca 343 Jointer Thicknesser

What can I say about this machine? It is basically the Ferrari of jointers. It's tiny footprint makes it hard to tell that it is actually a 10" planer. This machine runs extremely smooth and can handle very tough wood and is typical of Swiss made tools. I was lucky enough to buy this as part of a package of tools that included a Lini table saw and a dewalt Dust extraction unit.
Apparently I managed to catch the seller as he stepped off the plane at the airport. He said when he turned on his phone he had 36 SMS messages regarding the tools and about 50 missed calls. I told him I would save him some time and come out immediately to pick up the tools. I didn't negotiate with the price since what I paid for all the machines was cheaper than I had seen the planer selling for in the past. It is in incredibly good condition and apparently was bought as a prop for a TV show. I think it had never been used.

I recently had the chance to use this in anger while insulating the garage. The tongue and groove boards I bought varied in thickness up to 3mm. I pushed them through the Inca Thicknesser and they came out uniform. Again, I can't rate this tool highly enough. Inca is no longer in business but if you don't push the machine too hard and keep it maintained, it will last a lifetime. If anything breaks, it will likely be the planetary gears which an engineering shop could machine up.

Lini Table Saw
For some reason I can't find info on this saw anywhere. There are occasional pictures of saws located in Sweden but never any written info.

 This saw matches any Inca tool I have seen. It runs so smooth I can literally balance a coin on edge while it runs and push through wood without tipping the coin.It came with an extension to the table and the slide. It also has the mortising attachment however I don't have any chisels / square drills for it so until I get some morticing will have to wait.

This is easily comparable to the Inca 341 table saw and in some regards, surpasses the Inca. It's height adjustment mechanism is heavier duty and it's direct drive, softstart means it does not require an integrated stand. It has 2 speeds which is also very useful.

If anyone has info on this saw, please contact me.

So thats the overview of my largest woodworking machines. I know they are really hobby machines but given the 30 square meters of my garage, they offer a lot of performance for a small footprint. I will be building a router table at some point in the near future and will likely include the build on the blog. Stay safe.