This is the first time I have even considered doing a tool review so bear with me a little.
The review is a negative one. I say this simply to give those who will disagree time to sharpen their replies. I do not intend to answer any replies.
I bought a Rexon Wg180a wet grinder from Poolewood last weekend. I was encouraged by the positive feedback from this forum.
The Poolewood web site accepted order, seemed secure but did not provide me with an electronic receipt as the system just hung. I called Poolewood on Sunday ( they are closed) to leave a message and talked to Terry Davis who confirmed the order was in place. Order arrived on Tuesday, well packed, well documented. Well done Poolewood. Except the electronic shop price was £189 but the price I was billed was £194.88. I do know why.
I did not unpack it until friday last. Seems OK. Tool jig a bit fiddly. Machine quality seemed fine too, heavy, good plastic mouldings, seems to have a waterproof motor. Assembly OK. Manual utter rubbish and insufficiently clear. Makita manual from web OK and a better assist. Pictures still poor.
Tried to sharpen on of my newish Sorby Registered Motice chisels. First problem was getting a 25 degree angle. Its hard to measure. Very fiddly. Adjustment on tool jig is uncertain and because you have to adjust two milled nuts about 9 inches apart to alter the hight of the tool jig there is a chance of not getting the blade parallel to the grinder disk.
Tool jig is not totally secure when mounted though the two side fasteners help considerably.
Tool jig itself is really the problem. If this was sorted then this gadget would beat Tormek hands down and 1/3 the price. However, I tried to hold my chisel in the jig squarely, I even checked it with an engineers square ( three times whilst grinding) but found that the chisel would turn left or right pivoting on the jigs forward mouth. Tightening the three holding knobs as hard as I could provided no real improvement.
Upon sharpening the first chisel, a 3/4 inch new Sorby, I was concerned about the security of the chisel in the jig. The actual grinding process went OK but mainly due to frequent stops to check sqaureness of chisel to jig and holding it tightly in place with fingers and eventually a good 25 degree grind was achieved.
The 1000 grit grinder disk was not flat. It was dished in the middle sufficiently for the blade not to touch in places. The outer edge was raised above the inside edge and the outer edge was uneven. Thus the inner edge provided smooth grind but the outer edge was as rough as a bears bum. Did'nt seem to affect the grind but there must have been changes to the angle ground due to uneven outer surface.
My second attempt to grind a 1/2 inch Sorby was abandoned as the blade began to skew and even though I straigtened it up again the blade continued to pivot on the forward edge of the tool holding jig. These narrower chisels seem also to slightly dig into the abrasive disk although this might be because of too much pressure from my fingers trying to hold the chisel in place. Too much pressure stops the disk easily.
I also tried a paring chisel, 1 3/4 inch wide heavy square edged device which had previously been ground at 20 degrees for the primary angle. The jig could not be adjusted to even sharpen it. At the extreme of adjustment the blade floated about 1/5 of an inch above the grinding disk. Thus there is a restriction on the angles which can be achieved.
In summary: If the tool holding jig was sorted then this would be a superb grinder. The poor toolholding jig ruins this potential performance due to its poor accuracy, uncertain adjustment and poor tool holding. A redesign is necessary.
Finally I would say that this grinder is really meant to grind planer thicknesser blades and not chisels or plane blades. Though the uneven outer part of the 1000 grit disk would make it more difficult to achieve a common edge all across a planer blade.
There will be those who will jump in and say how wonderful this tool is . My experience is that it is a sound tool severely let down by its tool holding jig....or as I now call the "Tool UN-holding jig".
I called Poolewood today to demand my money back. I do not have time to fiddly about with kit which is not fit for purpose and I do have 20 + chisels to fettle. Poolewood listened, were responsive and promised to get Rexon to pick it up and examine it. Seemed to fairly regard the customer so well done Poolewood. I will let you all know how I fare in getting a refund.
regards
