In prior proposed diamond wire cutting machines the diamond wire was guided through the cutting zone by a pair of pulleys disposed on opposite sides of the cutting zone. The rotatable wire carrying drum was driven by a reversable motor so that when the end of the wire was approached the motor would reverse the direction of rotation of the drum and the wirepassing through the cutting zone would be reversed in direction but maintained under the same tension and the same cutting speed.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a diamond impregnated wire cutting machine adapted to cut preselected shapes involving X, and Y dimensions with precision accuracy and with resulting cut surfaces having a substantiallyfinished characteristic.

An object of the invention is to provide a diamond impregnated wire cutting machine especially adapted for cutting shapes from solid materials, such shapes including punches and dies made of tool steel, as by cutting away unwanted metal parts toleave the selected shape of die or punch.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a diamond impregnated wire cutting machine in which a pair of guide pulleys are turned about pivotal mountings in accordance with the preselected shape being cut.