A bevel gear making machine is provided with a structural orientation of cradle housing, cradle, tool holder and workhead assembly wherein the tool is designed to rotate about a generally horizontal axis while the work is designed to rotate about a generally vertical axis, and wherein supporting side wall members are provided for securely holding the workhead assembly against vibration during cutting operations. This orientation of these parts may be provided at two cutting stations to constitute a unitary double machine, and such a double machine may be adapted either for two roughing or two finishing operations. Further, two of these double machines may be arranged so as to provide four adjacent cutting stations, two for roughing and two for finishing. In combination with the structure mentioned above, a control arrangement is provided for the generating train whereby a higher production rate is possible. The control arrangement and the cutting tool are provided with their own separate power sources, independent of the generating train power source, and the control arrangement for the generating train is separate from the generating train itself.