A clear understanding of the surface formation mechanism due to cutting is very important to help produce a good quality surface. Much of the roughness along the length of a bar being cut in a lathe can be explained in terms of macroscopic tool shape and feed rate. However, the roughness along the direction of cutting requires a different explanation. The formation of surface roughness is a problem in flow and fracture of materials in the vicinity of the tool edge. On a microscopic scale the cutting edge is rounded because it is impossible to grind a perfectly sharp cutting edge. Even if a perfectly sharp cutting edge were obtained it would soon become dull as a result of rapid breakdown and wear of the cutting edge. A research project is proposed in which in the main object is to model the surface formation mechanism due to cutting. The tool was assumed to be dull, that is, its edge has a finite radius. In order to study the effect of the radius of cutting edge on the surface formation, tools having different cutting edges were used. For orthogonal cutting experiment, cast iron and glass were chosen as brittle materials. Plowing forces acting in the cutting edge were estimated and its effect on the surface roughness was studied by observing the machined surface using optical microscope.