INCA 570 Jointer/Planer - Belt Guard

In January 2013 I negotiated with a seller in Utah to purchase a secondhand Inca 570 Jointer/Planer and have it shipped to my home in Portland.  The machine had some issues, which is why I was able to get a good deal on it:

Some of the shortcomings included:

• it had no stand
• the outfeed table was missing
• the planer table adjustment handle was missing
• the blade guard on the articulated arm was missing, as was the aluminum "wrist" fitting
• the blade guard that mounts to the rear of the fence was missing
• the dust hood had several cracks
• the blades in the Tersa cutter head needed to be replaced
• both drive belts needed to be replaced

I contacted Jesse at Eagle Tool and found that I could buy the outfeed table (and mounting hardware) as well as the drive belts from him at a price I could stomach, and I felt I could fabricate the rest, so I agreed to buy the machine.  

We were able to ship the machine by UPS (without a stand and outfeed table it weighed in at around 120 pounds) and it arrived with just a few casualties: the infeed table height adjustment knob (black plastic) had been broken, and the plastic belt guard housing had lost a few chunks.

Upon closer inspection it became clear that the machine had once been near a fire, and the plastic belt guard housing and the plastic grate on the end of the motor had gotten hot enough to partially melt.  The belt guard was sufficiently cracked and warped that it no longer was able to hold the feed-roller speed knob in "neutral".

The melted end of the motor:

I spent some time thinking of ways to repair the guard, but in the end I decided to build a replacement from a piece of 1/8" plywood I bought at Michael's (the discount craft store), for about $4.

I cut apart a USPS priority mail box and used the cardboard to form a template to make sure the pieces would fit, and then I cut my plywood and started to glue it up.  Here's what I came up with:

Once I had a basic box, I used some auto body filler putty (aka Bondo) to smooth some edges and generally make the transitions nicer.  I also braced the inside and the area of the "gear shift", where you'll see I had to do some shaving in order to allow the lever to travel easily into the faster speed slot.

Once it fit and was basically constructed, I wanted to make it match the machine.  If you're a member of the Inca woodworking tool group on Yahoo!, you'll recall I posted asking for paint ideas.  When no suggestions arose, I took the old belt guard to the paint department of Home Depot where the nice man put it in their color-matching machine.  I bought a quart of exterior latex paint and used my old HVLP sprayer to put on a couple of coats of paint.   I also bought a pair of M6 wing-nuts to hold the shroud in place, with the following results: