Since solder is such a poor conductor, why use it?


Why would we not weld all joints. Welded silver or copper wire would not have the loss of conductivity of going through solder.
tbg
Don_c55, as I know a guy who worked at NASA who told me of $1000/foot wire, I suspected what you said. Thanks.

I also know that systems for better grounds to Earth, weld the copper wire to the copper pipes buried deeply into the ground.
I used to manufacture my own cables and quickly realized that solder was no good...I crimped all my cables
Al's first response is excellent, he obviously knows what he's talking about.

It's best for the materials being soldered to already have a good mechanical connection before soldering. The solder just holds it in place.

However, solderless set-screw connections do tend to sound best but the difference vs using good lead-free silver solder like WBT or Johnson is slight. The best RCA plugs imo, WBT 0102, are the best despite requiring soldered connections.
Davec113, yes, solder is good for holding in place, but so is super glue. It is not conductive, however, and may harm the cables. However, the solder even for tightly crimped wires would flow between the wires.

Use a length of solder wire in a circuit and listen to what you've got. Crap!