In this study, unsintered, presintered and full-sintered low purity alumina ceramics were machined with various tools to clarify the machinability and the optimum cutting conditions. The main conclusions obtained were as follows. (1) Machined with alloy steel tool, the machinability of the presintered ceramics becomes better with the decrease of presintering temperature, but that of unsintered ceramics(white body) was extremely poor. (2) In the case of carbide, K01, the tool life in machining the white body was the longest, and the machinability of presintered ceramics becomes poorer with the increase of the presintering temperature. (3) The K01 tools exhibit longer life than the P10 tools in machining both the white body and the ceramics presintered at l450℃ or higher temperatures, but the P10 tools shows longer tool life than the K10 tools in machining of the ceramics presintered at temperatures below l450℃.
