Thankee for the kind words.
Kid - I've used german aka nickel silver - my least favorite as it's stiffer than the other metals, Sterling silver - my favorite but of course expensive, brass, and copper.
For soldering I generally use a low heat silver bearing solder such as StayBrite.
I don't know of any tutorials on line, but have never searched - jewelry making sites and books are your best bet for how-to. The book, "Instructions & Hints for Assembling Pipe Tomahawks", which I usually have for sale (I'm out of stock right now but you can also get it several other places on line) shows the basics for doing a cap such as the one shown