Hi Gordon,

re:
> I'm very new to CAD. I'm a professional modelmaker and am trying to make it do things
> in a way I'd make them by hand. Not so easy!

It seems like you're off to a good start! Keep at it and it will keep getting a little easier.

Like Pilou mentions above, probably the #1 tip is to make sure your starting curves are well constructed and don't have any anomalies in them. Anything messy about the curves will tend to inherit to stuff constructed from them as well.

- Michael