"Earl" wrote in message
ups.com...
I've turned a lot of cedar and used to have a horrible time until I
finally built some jigs to use when sharpening my gouges, etc. Now it
cuts smooth as butter. My guess is your tools aren't sharp enough for
such soft wood. Soft wood is tough to cut. As others have said...light
cuts, sharp tools and lots of sandpaper.

Well, nobody's mentioned it so ... don't ride the bevel. If you put
pressure on the non-cutting portion of the tool you leave yourself
vulnerable to digs and bounces on any wood, as well as those ugly burnished
rings that never sand out. When there is a great difference between early
and late wood, as with fir, you also crush the brittle latewood into the
softer early. The forged gouge is a real winner here, peeling continuous
shavings rather than ripping.

Ride the toolrest, as you should with any cut, and keep the tool firmly on
it. May sound strange to repeat the obvious, but the number of people who
complain about dents in the rest means a lot of people aren't keeping their
hand over the tool and the tool to the rest. Which also leaves them riding
in and out with the changes in grain - not good.