solder

Brass solders VERY well, so the actual soldering isn't a big issue. I personally do not use acid core solder- too hard to clean up. Rosin core solder, made for soldering electronics, works fine with clean brass.

The hard part is jigging it together. For railings you have lots of joints, so the first joints can come unsoldered when doing later ones. I make jigs out of hardboard/particle board. It will char but not burn from soldering heat.

Also, you can hold parts together with modeling clay. The heat hardens it so you have to discard it afterwords, but it works well. This is best for shorter sections without too many joints. For the longer sections use the particle board jig.

Maybe not the easiest or least expensive, but it sounds as though you are after "Resistance Soldering". This is a process that electrically heats only the joint to be soldered so that your iron/torch does not unsolder the items you have already assembled. I've never tried it, but it seems to me to be the ideal way to assemble or even assemble in place 1/72 lifelines/railings. Also, consider doing your own photoetch. I bought a setup years ago but have also never tried that. Just need the right project to break my inertia, I guess. Setups for each of these approaches are in the MicroMark catalog or at their web site if you would like to see the relative prices.

Good Luck,

Tom

Maybe not the easiest or least expensive, but it sounds as though you are after "Resistance Soldering". This is a process that electrically heats only the joint to be soldered so that your iron/torch does not unsolder the items you have already assembled. I've never tried it, but it seems to me to be the ideal way to assemble or even assemble in place 1/72 lifelines/railings. Also, consider doing your own photoetch. I bought a setup years ago but have also never tried that. Just need the right project to break my inertia, I guess. Setups for each of these approaches are in the MicroMark catalog or at their web site if you would like to see the relative prices.

Good Luck,

Tom