For what it's worth, I thought I'd mention that tying and soldering bicycle spokes actually goes back to the days of highwheels, maybe before. An example is my 1886 Victor Light Roadster highwheel. That has the original tied-and-soldered spokes. Whether it actually works or not, I believe it was done because mechanics at the time believed it strengthened the wheel. Jobst Brandt in his famous book The Bicycle Wheel pretty much says that's it's not worth the trouble, but there's plenty of anecdotal evidence to the contrary - and it sure does look nice when done right.
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Jim Langley in Santa Cruz, CA Currently recovering from the San Bruno Hill Climb (yesterday)