• Milling tools make raw materials into usable components.scierie image by herreneck from Fotolia.com
  
  From metal to lumber, milling tools form large pieces of raw material into usable components. Modern milling tools easily shave, cut and finish material for industries as diverse as carpentry and machinery manufacture. Tools for milling include machines that alter the length, width, thickness and shape of materials. Whether you're fabricating a hot rod or building furniture, learn about the types of milling tools used by professionals and gather a suitable set for your project.
  
  

Planer

• Planers appear in metal and woodworking shops. This tool shaves away at a material's face to smooth its surface or slightly reduce its diameter. Metal planers typically employ sharpened bits, while wood planers use rotating blades. Planers appear as large table- or floor-mounted machines. A woodworker or metalworker pushes materials through the box-like body of a planer as the machine's blades or bit shave away at its surface.
  
  

Lathe

• The lathe rotates metal or wood material to create engravings, channels or decorative grooves around its exterior. Material mounts to a lathe's spindles at both ends, the machine's motor spins the material and an operator or robotic arm presses a sharpened cutting bit against the rotating stock. Lathes are responsible for carving indentures around the circumference of precision machine parts, staircase balusters and furniture legs.
  
  

Milling Machine

• The term milling machine generally refers to metalworking machinery that performs lathe work, stamping, cutting and engraving. Milling machines are often stand-alone, floor-mounted machines. Metal stock rests upon the milling machine's stationary base and cutting bits--often attached to a programmable, robotic arm--carve into the material to create a predetermined pattern. Programmable milling machines are referred to as "computer numerically controlled," or CNC, milling machines.
  
  

Table Saw

• Sawmills, and cabinet and furniture shops use table saws to create long, straight cuts through lumber and plywood. The table saw spins a sharp-toothed, circular blade. The tool's blade protrudes from a stationary base, referred to as a "table." Table saw blades are often 10 inches to 20 inches or more in diameter. Blades with large, widely spaced teeth are used to perform rough cutting and bulk material removal, while small, closely spaced teeth create clean cuts for finish-grade work.
  
  

Radial Arm Saw

• The radial arm saw, like the table saw, spins a sharp-toothed blade to slice through lumber. Attached to a retractable arm, the radial arm saw's blade hangs suspended above a stationary table. Radial arm saws are primarily used to create cuts that reduce a board's length, called "crosscuts." Sawmill workers or woodworkers place lumber on the tool's stationary base and pull the spinning blade through the material to create clean, straight cuts. Many radial arm saws tilt and rotate on one axis or more to produce angle miter and bevel cuts.