Inca Table Saw question

[Mark Brinson]

Hello all. First post!

I have a client, new to woodworking who has inherited an Inca tilting table table saw. She has asked me to come over and look at it and teach her how to use it.

We have cleaned it up and tuned it and made a crosscut and rip cut on it with good success. I have taught her to make a sacrificial fence when making tilted table bevel cross cuts and have been successful.

My question is: how do you make a safe bevel cut when ripping?
Table tilts to the left. Fence left to blade and cutoff piece is brought to blade by gravity. Fence to right of blade causes user to put their hand, IMHO, in a dangerous position, AND traps wood between blade and fence by gravity if not kept tightly pushed against fence. Remember, she is a novice.

Saw does have a riving knife installed and an overhead blade guard.

This saw seems solid, and the mortising table is a great feature, but I am just about ready to tell her to get a different saw, or figure out a different design on projects that might require a ripped bevel. I don;t want to do either unless I get more opinions from more experienced users here.

Thanks! Mark Brinson

[roman fedyk]

Maybe I am not understanding, but many tablesaws tilt to the left. On those saws when doing a bevel cut the fence is on the right, if you put the fence on the left you would trap the cutoff.

To make a safe cut with the fence on the right, with the blade tilting left, use a featherboard to hold the wood tight up against the fence and use a stick (many are available on the market, or make your own) to feed the board past the blade.

Your hand does not need to be anywhere near the blade and that's a very good thing. I had the Inca saw in the past but sold it.

All I have left now is the fence from it, as I had two.

[Jeff Willard]

Hmmm-never thought about that. I think I'd find an alternative to beveled rips, and keep the saw. Inca machinery is considered the cream of the crop by many, as far as small shop tools go. I've never used one, but many that have love 'em, and if they don't have one, covet them. I guess it just shows that as good as something may be, nothing is perfect. I'd tell her to keep it for awhile and try to come to terms with it. If, after a time, it turns out it isn't a good fit, selling it for a premium shouldn't be a problem.

[Jeff Willard]

...with the blade tilting left,...


This is a tilting table design.

[Gary Curtis]

You'll get an answer if you telephone Jesse or Raul at Eagle Tools in Los Angeles. They are located on Treadwell Street and the telephone is in the 323 area code.

The Titlting Table saw is a kind of special beast. I only know about the standard Inca cabinet saw.

Gary Curtis

[Chip Lindley]

Unless clients Inca is a family heirloom with intrinsic value, she would be best served to advertised the much-sought-after saw for a nice sale. Use the proceeds for a more traditional TS to learn on. A tilting table is a PITA!!....not for beginners.

[Van Huskey]

Unless clients Inca is a family heirloom with intrinsic value, she would be best served to advertised the much-sought-after saw for a nice sale. Use the proceeds for a more traditional TS to learn on. A tilting table is a PITA!!....not for beginners.

I agree 100%.

[Rod Upfold]

I started out with an old craftsman tilting table saw - scared the hell of me evey time I used it in a tilting position. You certainly dont want to have any distractions when using the saw in a tilted posion.

[Mark Brinson]

Thanks all for the feedback. The saw belonged to her deceased husband, so it is an heirloom of sorts. It seems to be a tight saw, but I agree, it might not be the best saw to learn on. I'll pass on the wisdom I've learned here and it will be up to her.

Thanks again for the feed back!

Mark Brinson

[Don Bullock]

You'll get an answer if you telephone Jesse or Raul at Eagle Tools in Los Angeles. They are located on Treadwell Street and the telephone is in the 323 area code.

The Titlting Table saw is a kind of special beast. I only know about the standard Inca cabinet saw.

Gary Curtis

I agree. The guys at Eagle tools are the "go to" bunch fir Inca tools and they are very friendly.

[Henry Ambrose]

There's nothing wrong with the saw, its just different. Compared to a typical American cabinet saw, its not as easy to do beveled rips, long rips, not great for cutting big panels, not great for big deep cuts in really thick wood.

It is a great saw for what I call "small stick building". The miter gage is first class, the saw is accurate and vibration free. The table adjustments are quick and easy. The saw's scale simply asks for a different use than say a 5HP Unisaw with a 52" table. You're closer to the blade so intricate box joints or dovetail cuts are easily visible while you work. Its easy to cut small parts and using the accessory jig pieces (if she has them) makes for fast and accurate small scale production. The guard is quickly moved out of the way when you need to. I have not run a splitter on mine since I can remember. Adjust the fence correctly and you won't need one. If you do get a piece of wood that closes on you, toss it aside - its scrap anyway.

As to the particular question you pose, I try to figure a way to cut my bevel rip as the drop from a larger part that can be safely handled. Or go to the Unisaw.

[Neil Brooks]

I hadn't seen one, before, but ... after having purchased issues 1 through 110 of FWW ... from a fellow SMC'er ... I've not only seen it, but ... have a picture OF it, and a review, too!!

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_WVVYjLCNo2w/S7FpLLg8YYI/AAAAAAAAA8g/5lonT8NGW2k/s512/scan.jpg

[doug faist]

Mark - welcome to the Creek; a great bunch of folks with an unbelievable array of knowledge and experience.

As to your question, I had, and loved, an Inca TTS for a number of years. It's a great saw in the right situation, but I have to admit that it scared the h#@l out of me every time I made a tilted cut. I finally got together the money and moved up to the INCA cabinet saw.

I would agree with some of the other posters; the tilting table is not the place to learn tablesaw fundamentals. Moving up to a regular cabinet saw would be the best move to make. If possible, keep the saw if it has sentimental value, but use it for small, flat, precision crosscutting and miter work.

Woodworking can be a lot of fun, but it must be done safely and a new woodworking on a tilting table just isn't my idea of safe.

Doug

[Derek Gilmer]

I hadn't seen one, before, but ... after having purchased issues 1 through 110 of FWW ... from a fellow SMC'er ... I've not only seen it, but ... have a picture OF it, and a review, too!!

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_WVVYjLCNo2w/S7FpLLg8YYI/AAAAAAAAA8g/5lonT8NGW2k/s512/scan.jpg

Wow :eek: Gotta say I would never make a tilted cut on that. All I can see is my hand, arm or face slipping and hitting that blade.

[Phil Thien]

Love my Inca gear (I have a jointer/planer and had a bandsaw). But those top tilting tablesaws look like cut-off launchers to me.

[Matthew Hills]

Wow :eek: Gotta say I would never make a tilted cut on that. All I can see is my hand, arm or face slipping and hitting that blade.

When this thread first came up, I was busy trying to work out how to perform cuts safely (featherboards, push blocks, etc.) to avoid the hand/blade collisions...

but then my mind boggled once I realized that there would always be wood pulled into the blade by gravity. I can't imagine beveled cuts on any substantial wood. I'd think a splitter is an absolute must.

I didn't know that Inca made a cabinet saw, too. How much do those run these days?

Matt

[Heather Thompson]

I would say keep the saw, it is very high quality and it did belong to her deceased husband, most cuts on the TS are 90 degrees anyway. As her skills increase she may want to upgade to a second saw for bevel cuts and such. The OP did not indicate that she was planning on breaking down sheet goods on this saw, it seems to me that she is trying to keep her husbands memory alive and maybe learn some new skills. As long as she does not tear up while using the machine I give her credit, when my father passes I will use his tools with great respect and appreciation, tears to be shed before use. This is a great tool and she should keep it.

Heather

[Bill Spievak]

I used a Delta tilting table saw for a number of years in the 60's. No one got hurt, but we all paid close attention to what we were doing - no distractions. We bought an Inca tilting table saw in about 1966 and used that as our job site saw for on site finish and detail work. It worked very well, was easy to move and was consistently accurate. When the shop closed recently we had numerous musical instrument builders and piano repair folks biding on it. I would have bought it myself if the bids hadn't gotten so high. It is a good saw and is excellent for detail and fine work.

[Jesse Espe]

Mark, welcome to the Creek!

Seeing the picture/ad of the tilting tablesaw gave me a chill, much like the infamous Tablesaw YouTube video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp-bQQl3FWY

[Rod Upfold]

Mark, welcome to the Creek!

Seeing the picture/ad of the tilting tablesaw gave me a chill, much like the infamous Tablesaw YouTube video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp-bQQl3FWY


Wonder if he starts his car like they do on the "Flintstones"?

[Bill Wyko]

IMHO the best thing to do with it would be craigs list it. Take the money and buy a used contractor saw and never look back. :D

[Henry Ambrose]

Its the beveled rip that's the problem. Small beveled rips are very sketchy.

What's shown in the photo is completely OK. I've done it thousands of times. Maybe it spits the tiny cut off gently out the back but I've never had any problem with it. If the cut off is good sized just hold it in your right hand and pull it away from the blade. This is a very compact saw and you can get right over it and control your work piece. And on a piece as shown you could swing the miter gage instead. Still a conventional American saw is better for many things and this is one of them. But that does not mean you can't do it safely on this saw.

If you have inner ear problems or are unsteady on your feet then I suppose you should be wary of the saw table tilted over. Otherwise slow down and think about what you're doing before cutting. Its just a machine. If you mis-use it its your fault, not the saw's.