Inca 250/259

[Stephen Cherry]

Do the Inca 250 and 290 tilt the blade to both the left and the right? Any opinions on these saws?

Thanks

[Gary Curtis]

I'm saving up to buy an Inca 2200 model saw. The engineering, material and finish can't be matched by anything less than an Altendorf or Marting (Germany) or Felder (Austria).

I don't know the exact features of the 250 & 290. Make sure it will handle the material you want to cut. Particularly, 8x4 sheets of plywood. If the 250 and 290 are the table-top models, I would wonder about capacity.

The West Coast dealer for Inca still carries spare parts and knows more than anyone. Look up Eagle Tools, and telephone them. Area code is 323 in Los Angeles.

Gary Curtis

[John Jarrett]

I owned an Inca 250 about 20 years ago. If memory serves, the 259 was the same saw with a pretty decent slot mortising table attached.
The blade does not tilt at all but the table does, similar to a bandsaw. Designed as a tilt table machine the table tilts to the left as seen from the operator's position. Also the table moves up and down, the blade is fixed. I have owned 2 pretty high end tilt arbor saws since. Neither has been as accurate and repeatable as the Inca. This probably because the fixed motor and blade arbor setup allows a simple and robust tilt and elevation system for the table. That said, the Inca made working with plywood sheets a "challenge". With solid wood it worked quite well. Bevel rips pretty much had to be done with the fence on the left of the blade. Adjustable roller stands were required as no fixed height out-feed table setup will work.
Another quirk of the saw. It will take a 10 inch blade but at max table height, the blade is still 1" above the table. As a result, I kept an 8 inch blade on the machine most of the time. Finally, the arbor size is 20mm not 5/8". Not a problem for blade suppliers, but don't expect to run over to the Borg for a quick replacement.

[George Beck]

I have an Inca 259. Actually I have mostly Inca tools. I have used this little saw daily for over 20 years with very little maintenance. I did replace the switch with a magnetic one. The table tilts only to the left. If you plan on using lots of panels or need to make a lot of bevel cuts, then it is not the saw for you. The tilting table in my opinion is dangerous for all but shallow cuts. Because I have an Inca shaper and band saw, all of the extension tables and mitre gauge extensions and sliding table are interchangeable which gives me big capacity when I need it without the footprint or sacrifice of rigidity or power. I noticed James Kenov in his last years owned an Inca 259. It is a great little saw if used for its purpose as a small precision table saw. I have all of the manuals by the way.

Good Luck

George

[Stephen Cherry]

Thanks for the responses, and good information. I have a big sliding saw, for big stuff, but to be perfectly honest, I kind of miss my unisaw. So, now I'm in the market for a small table saw for cutting joints, etc.

[George Beck]

The inca should be a fine second saw for you then. I always wanted one of those large sliding table saws, I just never found the space. I started with a unisaw as well. A great saw.