Dphariss, What is the brass thickness of the tailpipe shown in your tutorial? Maybe .060 or more? I learned a lot from what everyone has contributed on this discussion. One of the things I should have thought of was filing the edges square and accurate to help close the pipe seam. And using a punch to shape the transition area will certainly help. Now that I have seen these suggestions I know that some of the originals I have looked at were formed on mandrels with flats and rings. Have to work on that later. I think I will file up the shapes this time as that will match the handwork on the other two pipes already made. By asking questions as I work through this build I have already learned much as I expand my building skills from assembling and finishing purchased parts to doing as much of the actual fabrication (along with making the jigs/tools).Thanks much for all the help guys.