for instance an inside cuting tool may be provided to cut one side wall of a tooth slot an outside cutting tool may be provided to cut the opposite side wall of the same tooth slot and a bottom cutting tool may be provided for forming the bottom of the tooth slot to be formed in the work piece in certain gear cutting operations such as continuous cutting operations in which a work piece and cutter assembly are rotated together in a timed relationship it is especially important to accurately position bottom cutting tools for protecting clearance side surfaces of inside and outside cutting tools against excessive wear accordingly the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides for the accurate positioning of a bottom cutting tool contiguously with one of the aforementioned side cutting tools within a common slot although the preferred embodiment includes a particular combination of bottom and side cutting tools positioned contiguously within the same slot the principles of the present invention relate to any combination of tool designs in addition the preferred embodiment includes a particular bar stock type cutting tool in which a front cutting face is preserved during reprofiling operations the present invention however is applicable to any type of bar stock type cutting tools whether a front cutting face is sharpened or not referring to fig1 and 2 a bottom cutting tool is shown modified in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention the tool is generally of rectangular cross section and may be formed from a length of bar stock the tool includes a base portion 10 and a.