Thanks for your comments, everyone -

Since I started this thread, I actually found a couple of Inca 340 bandsaws
for sale. I made an inquiry of Garrett Wade, and they connected me with a
company in Los Angeles named Eagle Tools (www.eagle-tools.com). Eagle has
some used Inca power tools for sale, and a couple of them are 340's. Their
technician has worked on Inca for many years, and presumably knows how to
get them in good shape. Garrett Wade, who stopped selling the Inca line a
couple of years ago when the company went out of business, still sells parts
for the line out of the spare parts inventory they bought from Lee Valley
some years before, and a lot of parts like bearings, belts, and blades can
be US-sourced.

Unfortunately, the price is way out of my budget for a small saw like that.
They quoted me a price of $696 more or less, depending on condition, and I
couldn't possibly justify spending that much, no matter how good the saw is
and how well it fits my needs. But if anyone is looking for what's said to
be a real fine small bandsaw, and can afford the price, give Jesse at Eagle
Tools a call. Phone number (323) 999-2909.

Tom Dacon

"Tom Dacon" wrote in message
...
I'm looking around for a good small woodworking bandsaw for my garage
shop. The one I've got right now is one of those little 8" Delta saws. I
think it's never seen a piece of wood that didn't scare its little heart
to death, even with cool blocks, a 3/8" blade, and all the tension I could
screw into the blade tensioner. About the only good experience I've ever
had with it was cutting rigid foam, and I've concluded that it's useful
only for taking up space that might be better occupied by a better tool.

This would be just a light-duty casual-use saw, rather than a workhorse
tool. I have the use of a friend's woodshop nearby, and if I have any
serious sawing to do I can use his 18" Grizzly, but I'd like this one to
be a competent tool even so.

A bandsaw in that general size range that I've heard good reports about,
long ago, is the Inca 340 10 1/2" saw, which Garrett Valley, or was it Lee
Wade -just kidding, folks! :-) - used to sell some years ago. I've been
all over google and google groups, and even ebay, looking for someone who
sells that line or has one they'd like to sell, and I can't turn up any
recent information on Inca tools at all, let alone on that saw. So maybe
they're out of business nowadays or have no American distributor, and
everyone who has one of those saws wouldn't dream of parting with it - who
knows?

Anyone know of a Inca 340 for sale in good condition, and know where to
get parts? Failing that, what would the collective wisdom of the wreck
recommend in this situation? Delta used to have a 10" saw, but I've never
seen any chatter on the wreck about it, and I fear that it wouldn't
actually be any better than the 8". Three-wheel saws are out, in my
opinion, because of blade flexing around the tiny wheels and because the
ones I've seen looked pretty cheesy. Delta's BS220LS 12" saw is a little
bigger than I'd like, and comes with a metal stand I'd have no use for
(the saw needs to go on an existing work table, due to limited space in
the garage). Jet's smallest is a 12", and doesn't look much different from
the Delta 12" in either features or disadvantages. Grizzly's G1052 9" saw
looks attractive, at least to judge from the marketing info on the web
site - anyone have any experience with this model?

Thanks for any comments,
Tom Dacon