A single-point cutting tool is rigidly held in the tool holder, which is mounted on the ram. The work piece is rigidly held in a vise or clamped directly on the table. The table may be supported at the outer end. The ram reciprocates and the cutting tool, held in the tool holder, moves forwards and backwards over the work piece. In a standard shaper, cutting of material takes place during the forward stroke of the ram and the return stroke remains idle. The return is governed by a

Through the s, Bridgeport turret milling machines were made under licence by Adcock-Shipley, a long standing UK manufacturer of horizontal and vertical miling machines since pre WW. Bridgeport machines were built in two UK plants, Bridlington in Yorkshire and Forest Road in Leicester for the UK and international markets. By Bridgeport had acquired Adcock-Shipley and by Bridgeport had opened an assembly plant in Singapore to serve the Australasian market.

This modular style of construction is appropriate for large milling cutters for about the same reason that large diesel engines use separate pieces for each cylinder and head whereas a smaller engine would use one integrated casting. Two reasons are that () for the maker it is more practical (and thus less expensive) to make the individual pieces as separate endeavors than to machine all their features in relation to each other while the whole unit is integrated (which would require a larger machine tool work envelope); and () the user can change some pieces while keeping other pieces the same (rather than changing the whole unit). One arbor (at a hypothetical price of USD) can serve for various shells at different times. Thus different milling cutters may require only USD worth of arbor cost, rather than USD, as long as the workflow of the shop does not require them all to be set up simultaneously. It is also possible that a crashed tool scraps only the shell rather than both the shell and arbor. To also avoid damage to the shell, many cutters, especially in larger diameters, also have another replaceable part called shim, which is mounted to the shell and the inserts are mounted on the shim. That way, in case of light damage, only the insert and maximum the shim needs replacement. The shell is safe. This would be like crashing a "regular" endmill and being able to reuse the shank rather than losing it along with the flutes.

Selecting a milling cutter is not a simple task. There are many variables, opinions and lore to consider, but essentially the machinist is trying to choose a tool that will cut the material to the required specification for the least cost. The cost of the job is a combination of the price of the tool, the time taken by the milling machine, and the time taken by the machinist. Often, for jobs of a large number of parts, and days of machining time, the cost of the tool is lowest of the three costs.

Roughing end mills quickly remove large amounts of material. This kind of end mill utilizes a wavy tooth form cut on the periphery. These wavy teeth act as many successive cutting edges producing many small chips. This results in a relatively rough surface finish, but the swarf takes the form of short thin sections and is more manageable than a thicker more ribbon-like section, resulting in smaller chips that are easier to clear. During cutting, multiple teeth are in simultaneous contact with the workpiece, reducing chatter and vibration. Rapid stock removal with heavy milling cuts is sometimes called