High speed ball end milling is attracting interest in the aerospace industry for the machining of complex 31) airfoil surfaces in nickel based superalloys, Experimental work is detailed on the effect of cutter orientation on tool life, cutting forces, chip formation, specific force and workpiece surface roughness, when high speed ball end milling nickel based supperalloy(lnconel 718). Dry cutting was performed using 8min diameter solid carbide cutters coated with either TiA1N or CrN for the workpiece mounted at an angle of 45˚ from the cutter axis. A horizontal downwards cutting orientation provided the best tool life with cut lengths~50% longer than for all other directions. Evaluation of cutting forces and associated spectrum analysis of results indicated that cutters employed in a horizontal downwards direction produced the least vibration.