I don't seem to get many requests these days for tying and soldering as mos t of the cyclists around here tend to buy those ready-built wheels with ver y odd and dubious spoking patterns, built by companies such as Shimano, Mav ic and Campagnolo..to name just three.
However I did do some wheels not far back for some hefty guys who tended to punish their wheels more than the average rider. I found that the best and finest-drawn iwre that I could find that was suited to the purpose was ava ilable from craft shops.
Over here there is fashion and fad for makiing do-it-yourself necklaces of the "native" variety, by stringing beads on to a wire. Some of them creativ e types also twist the very malleable wire into interesting shapes.
The craft shops supply suitable wires for these purposes in a variety of ga uges...some of it being very similar to the specialist tie-and-solder kits were used to buy in the 50s and 60s. Because the wire used in the jewelley might be in contact with the skin, it is plated with what I assume is tin. As such it is very easy to bind around the spokes and is readily and easily soldered.
I read somewhere, a couple of years ago, that the wire helped to ensure tha t the solder bonded to the spokes themselves. Perhaps I have being doing th e job incorrectly for the past fifty years, but I cant see how this could b e possible. The author of the article complained that during the WWII, it w as impossible to tie and solder certain spokes, because the spokes themselv es were painted instead of being electro-plated.
Help..
Norris Lockley, Settle UK