Inca 570 Jointer/Planer

[Gary S. Tucker]

Hello All - I am new to the Sawmill Creek family as a member but have read the comments many times over the passed few months. I was in the market for a bandsaw and was interested in the many comments that were posted about Grizzly products. I live only three hours from Williamsport, PA and like the prices they have on their equipment. I went to their scratch and dent sale in June and got a GO513 17" saw. Have been real happy with it so far.

Anyway the question I have is regarding my jointer/planer. I have an Inca 570 that has been a good machine. The dealer I bought it from went out of business and Garrett Wade dropped the Inca line a few years ago. Now I am left out in the cold regarding parts and knives. Knives were relatively inexpensive so I wold buy new as required. This was also necessary since they are so narrow I was not able to get anyone to sharpen them on their grinders. I need new knives and can't find them anywhere. Can anyone help me? I have Googled Inca and Tersa ( the knife manufacturer) but have not been successful at finding at source. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.

[Neil Clemmons]

Hi Gary

Limited parts are available in the US. You might call Garrett Wade or Eagle Tools in California. They still have some items.

Second, parts are available from http://www.doebeli.ch/v1.x/index.html in Switzerland. There is an Inca machines link in the footer and an English version of that page when it opens. They do ship parts globally.

Third, I suggest you join the Inca discussion boards on groups.yahoo.com. It's a pretty good source for Inca products and advice. Just go to the URL and search for Inca and signup for the group.

Good luck.

Neil

[Phil Thien]

www.incamachines.com is the web site for the actual Inca factory (Inca is currently owned by Multico of France). At the above web site you'll find an E-Mail address. They are responsive and helpful. They do speak English (which is good, because I did terribly in French in high school).

[Hank Knight]

Gary,

I have an Inca 570. I love it. I bought knives from Garrett Wade and more recently from Martin Supply in Charlotte, NC, near where I live (http://www.martin-usa.com/pdf/Tersa%20knives.pdf).

In your area, try Symantech in N.Y. State (http://www.simantechinc.com/products.htm. They sell Tersa replacement knives.

Tersa makes cutterheads in all sizes. They are measured in metric units and you need to order the correct size. I don't remember the size for the 570 offhand, but if you still have an old blade package, the size will be on it. If not, I think it's on the blade itself (not sure about that). If all else fails, measure it with a metric ruler.

Blades come in carbon steel, high speed steel and carbide. I use HSS; they seem to have a fairly decent life span. Carbide would be nice, but they are out of my price range.

Inca went out of business several years ago. Apparently, Multico bought them and is cranking production back up. I'm happy about that. It will be nice to have access to parts again.

Cheers,

Hank

[Steve Wargo]

I have an Inca as well. FWIW, you can buy the carbide Tersa Knives at Amazon. They are pricey... buy they are sweet!

[Gary S. Tucker]

Gentlemen - Thanks for all your feedback and links i can try. I knew that there were places I could still get the knives - I just needed a little help. Hank and Steve - Have you ever been able to get your knives sharpened?

[Hank Knight]

Gary, I think Tersa blades were ment to be disposable. I've never tried to resharpen them. I always just throw them away when both sides get dull and insert a new set. The alignment of the blades is dependent on the relationship between the edge and the slot and wedge that lock the blade in place. Unless the sharpening keeps the ralationship within very close tolerances, the blades will not align properly. My guess is that few, if any machine/sharpening shops have the specialized equipment necessary to sharpen Tersa blades properly.

My $.02.

Hank

[Jim Becker]

Tersa blades are disposable and not intended for sharpening. You may be able to slightly hone the edge (if you are really lucky, you won't cut yourself badly in the process...), but sharpening? No.