The bearings are commonly used in nearly all rotational mechanisms to minimize friction while carrying a load. The raceway of the bearings is frequently damaged by depending on its harsh working conditions where it is operated. Therefore, roundness error and surface roughness of a bearing raceway is a crucial issue to provide longer service life. In this study, the performances of hard turning and grinding operations were compared in terms of roundness error and surface roughness of the raceway. Three cubic boron nitride (CBN) inserts with different shapes and effective rake angles (two rhombus inserts with chamfer angles of 15° and 35°, and a round insert with chamfer angle of 20°) were employed during hard turning tests. In addition, two cutting speeds (175 m/min and 350 m/min) and two feeds (0.05 mm/rev and 0.1 mm/rev) were used as cutting conditions. The cutting forces (Fc, Ff and Fp), surface roughness (Ra and Rz) and roundness error (Re) were evaluated as the performance criteria. Experimental results showed that passive force (Fp) reached to maximum levels when compared to other force components during the hard turning tests. The passive force was significantly affected by the effective rake angle and the magnitude of contact area at the tool-workpiece interface. It was found that the round inserts produced smoother surfaces than rhombus inserts due to their larger nose radii. Another finding of the study also is that the roundness error was significantly affected by passive force and tool geometry.