Synthetic water-based metal-cutting fluids are increasingly popular in the metal-working industry because of its environmental friendliness. The propose of this study is to investigate the synergistic effect of combining polyethylene glycol and common fatty acid in formulating a metal-cutting fluid. The tested metals were aluminum, copper and steel, and the test was performed with a modified drilling machine. From the study, it was found that there existed some synergistic effects on the drilling efficiency of the metals to decrease of cutting time, cutting energy, torque as well as the smoothness of surface depended on the formulation ratio of the two fluids.