Hi Rich,
I don’t know much about welding either, but what I do know is that welding involves using much higher amounts of heat than soldering does. Welding is a process where two pieces of metal are joined to create one piece by melting the adjoining surfaces and then filling the gap with a similar metal. That means that the objects themselves must be melted along the joint in order for the bond to be created.
Soldering involves bonding two pieces of metal together by using a suitable metal as a ‘glue’ if you will. That’s what the lead solder does. Soldering does not melt the surfaces of the objects that are being joined. It only heats them to the point where the joining compound, i.e. lead solder, can bond to their surfaces.
Given the size of the components that I am working with, I think that if I were to try welding them together, I would end up with a puddle of copper and brass and not much else.
Again, I am not an expert on welding, and I’m sure that there are probably methods for welding thin brass sheets to copper pipes, but I strongly doubt that those methods are readily available to the average hobbiest.
Cheers!!
Dave