Abstract: A method for manufacturing a dental or medical tool the method comprising the steps of positioning a pre-fluted blank 14 including a stem 24 and a shank 22 within a machine 30, using a probe to identify a position and/or an orientation of at least one flute 26 of the pre-fluted blank 14 and/or the position and/or orientation of an orientation indicator 28 of the pre-fluted blank 14, and using the machine 30 to form a cutting end region 36 at the end of the stem 24 of the pre-fluted blank 14 remote from the shank 22, the flute 26 extending into the cutting end region 36, the machine 30 being controlled to ensure that the cutting end region 36 is correctly orientated relative to the flutes 26 of the pre-fluted blank 14.