An important component of the total production costs of forged parts are the costs for finish turning. During the last few years near-net - shape technology has been advanced, so that the realizable accuracy by chipless forming has been enhanced and cutting operations are necessary at connection surfaces. This can lead to discontinuous cutting processes caused by the varying depth of cut or interrupted cut. Results obtained from turning tests with continuous cutting cannot be used as a base for the machining of those forged parts. For a reduction of production costs of near-net-shape forged parts further investigations on machinability are necessary by adapted testing methods. © 1991, Institution of Mechanical Engineers. All rights reserved.