CompuServe Messages

I'm having no end of trouble adding bevels to text in the lofter. Just about any bevel I try (except miniscule ones) with just about any font generates illegal geometry and the thing wont loft. Nearly every 3D program on the Mac will generate automatically beveled text without any of this headache and I've taken to cross-modelling text from the Mac to 3DS. What's the trick? Please help, new-convert-from-the-Mac, JohnW