Machinability studies are important in the manufacturing industry. The popularity of machinability experiments does not decrease with the development and competition in the manufacturing industry. Performing the machinability tests physically increases the cost and the time to determine the desired processing parameters. These costs can be eliminated by the finite element method. For this reason, both physical and finite element methods were discussed within the scope of the study. The parameters obtained because of the studies carried out with the finite element method were evaluated statistically by Taguchi L9 orthogonal index and ANOVA. In the study, S960QL structural steel, which is mostly used in industrial armor production, was preferred and the machining method was chosen as milling. Varying cutting parameters were selected as cutting speed, feed rate, and lateral and axial cutting depth. Variables with three levels for each parameter were preferred. As a result of the study, optimum machining parameters were determined as 0.2 mm lateral depth, 2 mm axial depth, 110 m/min cutting speed, and 0.08 mm/tooth feed. According to the ANOVA results, it was determined that the most important parameter affecting the forces in the X, Y, and Z axes was the axial cutting depth, and their effects were found to be 36.12, 38.82, and 2.23, respectively. It was concluded that lateral cutting depth for power consumption, feed rate for temperature, and lateral cutting depth for torque are the most effective parameters. Comparing preliminary experiments and FEM results, it was determined that FEM is the appropriate method for machinability tests, and it is thought that it will provide a different perspective for such studies in the literature.