Shopsmith Forums

Does anyone know what type of steel is used in Shopsmith lathe chisels? I have not been able to find anything in the forum that is specific. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Larry

Hi
I don't know exactly what the alloy is but it has been reported that it does not make the grade of M2 high speed steel. However some years ago Shopsmith did market a set of bowl turning tools that did receive high marks for the type of steel that was used. These tools did check out as high speed steel and were given high marks. I believe that these tools were tested by the AAW (American Association of Woodturners)
I have the SS regular set which are OK but the bowl turning set does seem have superior steel.
Bill V

There have been several versions of the shopsmith tools. And as far as I know we have no idea what steel is used in any of them other then possibly the old bowl turning set.

The set I have that came with my 1976 shopsmith looks a lot like the Buck tools that were being sold at the time...... but who knows.

Ed

My SS was new in 1998, at the time I was told that the turning tool set was manufactured by Buck for SS. Not sure how long they held the contract.

Cant say for sure about SS ,,,but most high end wood working chisels are high carbon steel,,,, some even have a small percent of Vanadium in them for hardness.

My 2007-vintage SS OEM chisels are HSS. They probably have been HSS as 'standard' for 10-15 recent years.

Prior to that, they were probably O1 or a similar high carbon steel.

Some folks (including perhaps Nick Engler videos) note that the color of sparks during sharpening can help indicate a high carbon content or something like that.

Chris

I called Shopsmith this morning and ask a lady. The only information she could give me is the 8-piece tool is made from high quality steel. She stated the small set(pen set) is made by easy wood tools. The 8-piece set was just released in the last month. She took my name and was going to call back if she could find out the maker or the grade of steel. I told her I would not purchase the set unless I could find out the grade of steel. Maybe that will help. The 8-piece set looks a lot like the 8-piece set from Penn State Industries-the Benjamin.s Best. These are quoted as being made form M2 High Speed Steel and are sold for $74.95. The Shopsmith ones are advertised for $104.91. If I get anymore info I will post it here. Larry

lalkie01 wrote:I called Shopsmith this morning and ask a lady. The only information she could give me is the 8-piece tool is made from high quality steel. She stated the small set(pen set) is made by easy wood tools. The 8-piece set was just released in the last month. She took my name and was going to call back if she could find out the maker or the grade of steel. I told her I would not purchase the set unless I could find out the grade of steel. Maybe that will help. The 8-piece set looks a lot like the 8-piece set from Penn State Industries-the Benjamin.s Best. These are quoted as being made form M2 High Speed Steel and are sold for $74.95. The Shopsmith ones are advertised for $104.91. If I get anymore info I will post it here. Larry

They both have a 16.5 inch handle. The Shopsmith have a 6.5 inch blade the PSI have a 5.250 inch blade. The 6.5 inch blade allows a person to use the Shopsmith grinding attachment which probably makes the extra cost worth itl

The eight piece set is made by Savannah Tools from Georgia. They appear to be imported from China, and reviews from Amazon and elsewhere give them ok reviews. Basically a good starter set similar to Penn State's Benjamin's Best brand. They are High Speed Steel. Not sure what grade High Speed Steel. The Shopsmith set that was around forever is out of production and was replaced with this set.

These appear to be a general purpose set. They are not likely to be good for bowl turning where end grain is involved.

When you blow up the image you can see more detail:
Ed