The Rex Sewing Machine (Company, History, Cost, Review)
Some sewing machine companies seem to fly under the radar. That is because they are not seeking attention but paying attention to the quality of their product. Or because they focus a lot of their attention on the industrial side of the sewing industry and fewer people hear about the company.
According to the company’s website, it has been in business since 1957 and is not a business where one man took the initiative to start. The company may be based in India, according to the information gleaned by the about us page on their website.
To learn more about the Rex Sewing Machine Company just continue to read our article. It does its best to get you the most information that is possible for this specific sewing machine company.
Rex Sewing Machines 101
Who Makes REX Sewing Machines?
The simple answer is REX does. It seems to be an independent company that was started and stayed in India. There is not much history given about this company and the people behind it, who started it, run it, and manage its sales, etc., are unknown.
Their website is lacking in a lot of details in its history as well as its operations. The company started in 1957 and it has maintained a strong presence in its Indian market every since.
Over the past 60 years or so, this company has been able to expand into different parts of Africa as well as the Middle East and Eastern Europe. They have a presence in about 36 countries in all.
According to their website they have “been awarded several export excellence awards, we are now a Government of India Recognized Export House” and they claim to provide the ultimate in production quality controls as well as customer service. They even have a fleet of vans to bring good customer service to remote areas.
The REX Sewing Machine Company
From what little information that is available on the internet about this company, it seems that they have taken customer care and quality of products seriously. While the company website says they were established in 1957, another website pushes that date back to 1952.
Also, the company website doesn't list any leader or officers, that other website says that a Mr. Sarabjit Singh is the mentor for the organization and a Dinesh Dandona is the company CEO.
Their mission is to provide the best products possible with a wide enough selection so that its customers can find the machine that meets their needs. The interesting thing about some of their sewing machines is that they look similar to ones made by British and Americans in the 19th century.
There are a few with more up to date designs but the ones listed on their website look like they stepped out of a history book.
REX Sewing Machine Models
This company manufactures many different sewing machines and the industrial versions look more like modern industrial sewing machines in design and function. There are at least 9 of these machines on sale now and you can view them at this link.
Then their website has several pages of different sewing machines that seem to be made for the residential market. These are the ones that are looking like late 19th and early 20th-century sewing machines made by Singer, Howe, and other sewing machine makers.
These are very simplistic in design and have few controls to worry about. They also come in different colors for some models. Others are very beautifully decorated like the ones you would find in the early stages of sewing machine manufacturing.
The RX 607Z has a long review written about it and the threading design also seems to be easy to figure out and get right. You can read the whole review at this link. One thing that can be said about different REX sewing machines is that they are built to last.
REX Portable Sewing Machine
The RX 607Z is one of those portable machines and it comes with an all-metal frame to make sure it is durable as well as strong. Plus, it can sew up to 1,200 spm making it a fast sewing machine when you need to get lots of work done.
Other portable sewing machines come with different features to make sure your sewing needs are looked after. The SM-07 has an open shuttle race, forward and reverse lever as well as a nickel-plated needle bar.
The SM-08 has similar features except for the shuttle race. This model’s is an oscillating design and not an open one. The numbers for their machines start at SM- 01 and go on up to SM- 26 with some numbers skipped.
These portable machines are not deprived of the top quality raw materials the company uses in its industrial models. But they are given better colors and designs to set the two apart.
Finding a REX Sewing Machine Manual
We would suggest you contact the company directly to see if you can get a sewing machine manual. The internet does not have a large supply of sources with a couple of websites having only 1 each.
Those websites can be found here and here. Then you can find more on this website. if you want to contact the company, they have a handy contact form you can use or you can use their e-mail address to get help in finding the right manual. That information can be found at this link.
An alternative place to look would be to look up the many different dealers that are close to you and see if they have any manuals on hand. That would be one good source and if they don’t they may be able to direct you to the location that does.
REX Sewing Machine Cost
After checking the website, there are no prices listed near their many sewing machines and there is no check out page. That means you will have to find a dealer near you to get an accurate price.
One dealer that we found on the internet had a range of prices for the different industrial models they sold. Those prices were from $240 to just over $1000. Then eBay had several ranging between $50 and $450 and another company only gave prices in Indian Rupees.
In addition, one dealer would not list the prices of their REX sewing machines and said to contact them for details. Just remember that the price will fluctuate between dealers and countries and what we quote here may not be the price tomorrow.
Actually, more than one dealer said to contact them for the price so that tells you that these machines may not be as cheap as one would think.
Finding a REX Sewing Machine for Sale
This is probably one of the easier tasks when it comes to getting the sewing machine you want. There are numerous ways to find a REX sewing machine for sale. One thing is for sure, the company’s web page does not invite direct sales.
They probably did not want to deal with the hassle of shipping charges, custom fees, and other charges that come when products are sent to other countries. As noted above, eBay is one place you will find REX sewing machines at a reasonable price.
Just type in REX in their search box and numerous machines come up for sale. The company website also doe snot list any dealers. But you can always use their contact page to find one near you, or at least ask them for a list.
We have already linked to two dealers that sell REX industrial machines and there may be more if you do a concentrated search. This dealer does not list prices but you can see if they are close enough to serve your needs.
Believe it or not, there is at least one for sale on Amazon right now. Its price tag is between $400 and $500 and you can check it out at this link. Just be wary of any shipping prices and other fees when you consider buying online or long distance.
Our REX Sewing Machine Review
From what we can tell, REX seems to make good sewing machines. The company attitude is just right and they have a strong mission statement that helps guide their manufacturing and customer service operations.
What we liked about their regular sewing machines was the throwback to a simpler era design. Each of those machines looks good, comes in some unique designs, and may have your guests think you own top-rated antiques.
The features seem to be on the fewer side though which may be a drawback for most purchasers. Then the industrial machines look like industrial machines and seem capable of performing up to expectations.
They are fast when it comes to stitches per minute in some cases. They seem to be durable and made to last a long time. The pricing is reasonable and the drive to provide top customer service is commendable.
Finally, the machines look simple in design, meaning that they are easy to set up and easy to use. There does not seem to be any need to take computer classes just to learn how to operate their different sewing machines.
We will suggest that you take one or two out for a test drive to find out for yourself if these machines will be as good as the top western and Japanese brands that dominate the market today.
Testing them out for yourself is the only way to see if these machines will meet your sewing needs.
How to Thread a REX Sewing Machine
The instructions given here are for the Sailrite Walking Foot machine made by REX:
Step one, place the spool on the spool holder that sits next to the machine. Then pull the thread end up and place it through the hook at the end of the bar attached to the spool holder. Third, bring the thread through the hole on the thread post on top of the machine. Then pull the thread forward to the pigtail near the middle of the machine.
Now go down to the three-holed bar and pass the thread through the first hole going down and up around the bar and then down through the third hole. After that, you head towards the tension knob and pass the thread through before heading up to the take up lever.
When you reach that part, take the thread through the hole and down to the needle bar thread guide and go through that hole. Once you have reached this stage, just thread the needle left to right.
To see a diagram of how to do this, just click here. It is a PDF manual for this machine and has all the information you need to keep that device operating smoothly.
REX Sewing Machine Needles
The good thing about sewing is that there is no one size fits all needle for the different fabrics you work with. The same goes for the REX machines as you will change the needle when you go from tougher fabrics to easier ones and vice versa.
We checked several parts stores online and only one listed an Organ size 22 for the REX 607 model. That should give you an idea for the industrial machines. The universals may work for the residential models.
Some Final Words
Just because the REX sewing machines come from India doe sit mean that those machines are inferior to other brands. If you do a lot of commercial sewing the industrial models should sew fast enough and keep up with demand.
The attitude of this company seems right but the only drawback is finding those dealers who sell and service REX machines. If they are not close to you then they may n t be a great option.
