Thread: Rexon any good?

Seen the heading and immediately though of Rex on... Rex off

what do you mean?

Originally Posted by BaileyBoy

what do you mean?

You might be a little bit too young but a movie by the name of The Karate Kid had a scene between Miyagi and Daniel where Miyagi was telling Daniel how to put wax on the car and then how to remove wax. Wax On Wax Off

Sorry not able to help you with the Rexon.

You might find "Rexon" is a generic name. That is the machine is sold under several names, just depends what sticker is on it.
I have a Rexon scroll saw (bought at TWWS over 16 years ago) that was identical to another machine I used but branded differently.

Hi BaileyBoy,
I believe Rexon no longer exists as a brand, I have a Rexon 150mm jointer they were one of the many names put to the generic Taiwanese machines that came into the country. I have had good service from this jointer and as with all of these machines when tuned as most seem to need(be they Taiwanese or not) they perform well and give good service. As for spare parts most of these machines are identical except for the paint and brand so even though Rexon no longer exists parts should be available for still existing brands and be compatible.
Regards Rod.

Originally Posted by Christos

You might be a little bit too young but a movie by the name of The Karate Kid had a scene between Miyagi and Daniel where Miyagi was telling Daniel how to put wax on the car and then how to remove wax. Wax On Wax Off

That's it Christos, Thanks

Hi All,

Thanks for the responses to my Rexon query.

I'm still in the hunt for a planer/thicknesser. I've finally finished the front deck of a Queenslander so will be moving onto making more things.
The main reason for getting a planner and thickness is that every time I ask someone for a quote, it comes back so expensive so I'm going to start making my own. Perhaps tradies think people with Queenslanders are rich! So I'm going to start making my own wicket style handrails which I don't think is that hard other than getting the measurements right. Then I'm going to make some windows (6 sets of 800x450), including the frame, then going to build in one side of the veranda. So I think if I get a planer/thickness, I will make good use of it. Plus, I like to make my own tables, benches etc...

So I have been researching... and is wanting people's feedbacks on my findings. I'm a bit young to know about older machines. Appreciate if the more mature members share their experiences.

What I've noticed:
* Good planers are very expensive ($3k+)
* Run of the mill brands - carba tec, Hafco are reasonably priced (1000-1500)
* Most jointers are 6", thicknessers are 12" -thickness is handy but I will probably have more use for a jointer. I mean if a jointer can be used as a thicknesser which a bit of fiddling around.
* Some really old machines (Artisan, Paul Call) still fetch 300 - 600 but they are 30 - 40 year old machines. People say they don't build things like they used to. I think that's true for structural part but electrical motors? Things have came a long way.
* New machines have wheels, much easier to move around. My situation is that my workspace is limited. I think I'll have to wheel the machine from under the house to the driveway to do some of these work.
* Combination machines - to me it seems a bit artificial. I mean the planer will be cramped, short decks and I don't know how good the saws are.

So the choices seems to be between:
* 60-70s machine for $500 or 90s & 2000s machine for $1000
* Well build old machine for a lighter new machine which probably handles less banging and abuse
* 60s technology vs 90s technology

The key question which I hope the more senior/mature guys can share is quality of the finish. Is there a difference?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

I worked my way through uni in a cabinet shop where everything was big, heavy and cast iron. Completely impractical for the home but reliable and very accurate for it's limited functions. Finish was average but that was probably more to do with the amount of material the blades processed between sharpening. Whenever something broke in the shop it was a disaster. Trying to get parts was a nightmare.

I've had my fair share of generic taiwanese equipment since and provided you're prepared to keep the blades sharp and keep fiddling to ensure everything stays set up right results were pretty good. I didn't find repeatability with cut depths was great but with a bit of stuffing around you could get pretty good results. All the fiddling does add up in time but if you're not really pushed it's no big deal.

I've since graduated from all that gear to a Hammer combination machine. It's mobile, compact, quiet, it's accurate and stays accurate, the finish is spectacular and repeatability is amazing. You can thickness something at 10.0mm, stuff something up and thickness another piece 3 days later at the same 10.0mm without another test piece. I reckon if I took all the arseing about with the generic machines into account, sizing stuff on the Hammer takes about 1/3 of the time. Sure, I miss the 8ft jointer table in the cabinet making shop but every time I switch the Hammer on I feel so lucky to have it. I'd take it over the old industrial gear any day. The down side is it was really bloody expensive but after having it for 4 months now, the cost just seems completely irrelevant.

That probably doesn't help at all

Thanks mate.

If I have space, I would prefer the older machines which is more solid but I need to be able to wheel in and out from bottom of the house so portability is a must for me. Just looking at some of the basic carbatec machines and they seem all right.