Anyone here do metalwork?

I am trying to learn on my own ,and soldering is giving me a fit..I just balk.
Any ideas on what exactly I need to get started? Nothing fancy..just want to be able to join metals together like brass,pweter or copper and maybe eventually try silver.I got a firebrick to work on and I figured I'd start testing the waters with a cold heat and thin wire..I got solder and flux..too
And I may get a torch when I understand what happens when you solder visually. I just want to understand what the process IS..I'm working with copper wire to start.I don't got alot of money,but I want to understand the process first ,than I will know if it is possible for me to do it regularly.
I can cast pewter, I did a beautiful lion face recently..but I want to learn more.

Any tips or advice is appreciated.