Thanks ctbram
I have some questions on your answers

Problem 1 - What's the purpose of the bridge tool if it doesn't weld the edges?

Problem 2 - Here my problem is the position of the rotation tool. Not so much the alignment.
If I make a selection I want the rotation tool to position himself in the
center (average) of the selection. At the moment my rotation tool in Maya
always seems to use the pivot position of the object.

Problem 3 - Oh my, aren't there any scripts that allow you to align the rotation tool
on a selected edge/face or vertex? It seems so devious!


Thanks for taking the time to come up with answers for my questions.