So, you solder your series connections. I press the wire down as it cools, many tutorials show just laying the wire on nickel. Doesnt pure solder create resistance? Most guys that solder two wires together, talk about having a connection before adding solder. They call this gas tight.
Particularly with copper braid, I hold it down so it contacts firmly as the solder solidifies.
Plus I use a huge area of solder, to guarantee adherence and strength.
hits my crack pipe
Yeah man you should attempt to create the most contact w/your wire & nickel strip as your solder phase change is happening. Potential reasons why you might not want to hold/press the wire down with something - if you have shaky fuckin hands. If you’re spazzin out with shaky fuckin hands holdin your pliers or w/e to hold down your conduit. That could make the joint more fucked compared to just letting it rest in a molten solder pool.
This is why you should always snort some beta blockers before a long night of soldering.
Also, would a high silver content solder be preferrable?
Yes, about ten times the resistance of copper.
Excellent.
If done carefully, without any shifting while the solder cools, this will create a lower resistance connection.
Most lead-silver solders won’t make enough of a difference to be worth dealing with their higher melting point. With good braid/nickel contact the solder is more of a mechanical connector instead of a resistance reducer.
tl:dr 
shaky hands
When it comes to splicing wires together, you want the splice to hold itself together before you add solder. It ensures that the splice won’t ever come apart on its own since you add more strength once you solder it, and then a little extra strength after shrink wrapping it. For wire splices the extra contact area of copper to copper is just an added benefit
this is called a Western Union splice apparently. Didn’t know it had a name until I tried looking for a diagram in case it helps. E and F are just variant ways to do it for different wire lengths.
Listen to Battery Mooch when it comes to battery soldering. I just wanted to explain what you’ve heard people mention when it comes to splicing
This is for solid wire, try doing that with braided 
When I mention splicing, it doesn’t come to this, I doubt it does for anyone here. Using solid core wires is not advantageous for our applications
[quote=“iNoLikeFlexyDecks, post:8, topic:80599”]
When I mention splicing, it doesn’t come to this, I doubt it does for anyone here. Using solid core wires is not advantageous for our applications
[/quote]forgive my ignorance,I don’t really work on boards if I can help it,however I tend to splice like this if I need to even with multiple strand wire,is there a preferred method?
Yes, cut off cleanly and square. strip off jacket. Carefully meet headon and intermingle the strands. They will spread out a little, but you will then smash them together, and spin it in fingertips to create small diameter. Place on surface or preferably install in soldering hands free. Solder and enjoy a similar appearance and function as unspliced.
So do I. It works with stranded wire just fine. The diagram just shows it as a single wire for the sake of clarity. When using multi-strand wire you just twist each side a bit, then do the wrapping and then at the ends of the typically end up untwisted and you can wrap those around in small groups to reduce wire bulk. You can also leave the entire exposed wire twisted but then you’ll have a sudden increase in wire size vs it being gradual
If something happens and that solder fails then you’re fucked. The more you do it the better you’ll get at keeping the size smaller
To be fair, if it’s soldered properly, the only way it’s gonna fail is if it overheats or breaks due to lack of strain relief… either of these is pretty much a catastrophic event on it’s own, so the extra steps and bulk required for the macrame joint seem redundant.
With my luck, the one time I don’t do it will be the time it eventually ends of failing. Plus it is easier to do that to begin with vs having to potentially redo the splice in the future after everything is put together. I wouldn’t trust any other method to work well for small 26 gauge wire either. (for sensor wire splices)
And this is why I don’t work on my death machine if I can help it
You know when to ask questions, that’s the most important thing. I think you could work on it.