Abstract: A composite pile includes a wooden section and a helically corrugated shell secured to the wooden section by a transition fitting. The transition fitting is fitted telescopically to a tubular end portion of the shell by a circumferential weld which is embedded in the wooden section. Because the weld is very strong and is disposed within the wooden section, the strength of transition-to-shell connection is increased over prior composite piles. The pile manufacture includes the step of removing corrugations from the end of a shell by squeezing the end of the shell between radially movable, annular die segments.