1. You cannot silver solder with an electric soldering iron. Any true silver solder has a melting point between 800F and just over 1200F (which is for pure silver). I don't know of any electirc iron that will reach those temps.
Huh? Then what have I been doing with 2 to 3% silver solder that I have been lead to believe is silver solder, sold as "silver solder", and holds up like silver solder? At what point does the tip of a Weller glow red? If I leave mine on it does in a few seconds. I believe you're thinking 25W soldering pencils and not heavy duty 200 to 300 W soldering guns.
http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/we...rgunselect.htm According to the manual of my Weller D550 the tip reaches 1,100º in six seconds at the 260W setting, 900º at the lower 200W setting.
If it looks like a duck, smells like a duck and "quack's" like a duck . . .
If you're introducing a metal rod into a join I thought it was welding or brazing. Soldering fell under electrical vs. silver (conductive vs. fastening). Live and learn.