@WobblyHand,
Welcome to the H-M.
A couple of things come to mind....
Regarding the angle of your cutter.....
One way to think about angles of your inserts or cutters in general, in relation to the surface you wish to cut, (especially with smaller and lower HP lathes), is the more surface of the cutter in contact with the material being cut, the more force that needs to be applied to cut. As the energy is being spread over a larger cutter area. In other words the Force per Area is lower. Think of 1 lbs force over 1in^2 =1psi That same 1 lbs force spread over a 1/10 in^2 = 10psi. So the smallest amount of the cutter in contact with the part being cut, will have the greatest cutting force (PSI), and will require less power to cut your part. Also smaller tip radiuses will cut better, though the finish will not be as nice.
In short turn your cutter so only the tip is in contact with the surface you wish to cut.
Same applies to the sharpness of the cutter. HSS bits are not a brittle as Carbide, and can take more abuse to a sharp edge as compared to carbide. Therefore, HSS often ground to quite sharp edges. Carbide brittleness is the reason most carbide inserts are not ground to a sharp edge from the MFG, as the sharp edge can chip more easily. But this also means Carbide inserts typically need quite a bit more pressure and a larger depth of cut to cut effectively, as compared HSS.
Stefan Gotteswinter is an impressive machinist who machines parts on smaller lower power equipment using carbide. He regrinds his carbide to sharper edges to work with lower power machines and to take finer cuts.
In addition to the angle of you cutter, another thing to check is.... whether the height of you cutter is correct. If it is above the center line of your lathe, the contact point will be below the cutting edge and it will not cut well. Of the two, being slight below the center line is better than above, though we all strive to be dead center.
Hope this helped.
