Dry machining of advanced materials such as aluminum-silicon alloys, magnesium alloys, and metal matrix composites is becoming more prevalent in the manufacturing industry. In addition to environmental and economical concerns, health hazards associated with wet machining have added to the importance of the application of dry machining. This paper presents machining and aerosol emission results of a comparative dry machining experiment using three commercial available tools: a chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond-coated tool; a polycrystalline diamond (PCD) brazed tool; and a carbide tool.