Hard and brittle materials, such as Ni- and Ti-based alloys, glass, and ceramics, are very useful in aerospace, marine, electronics, and high-temperature applications because of their extremely versatile mechanical and chemical properties. One Ni-based alloy, Inconel 718, is a precipitation-hardenable material designed with exceptionally high yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, elastic modulus, and corrosion resistance with outstanding weldability and excellent creep-rupture properties at moderately high temperatures. However, conventional machining of this alloy presents a challenge to industry. Ultrasonic vibration cutting (UVC) has recently been used to cut this difficult-to-machine material and obtain a high quality surface finish. This paper describes an experimental study of the UVC parameters for Inconel 718, including the cutting force components, tool wear, chip formation, and surface roughness over a range of cutting conditions. A comparison was also made between conventional turning (CT) and UVC using scanning electron microscopy observations of tool wear. The tool wear measured during UVC at low cutting speeds was lower than CT. UVC resulted in better surface finishes compared to CT under the same cutting conditions. Therefore, UVC performed better than CT at low cutting speeds for all measures compared.