Sterling Silver Feet & Leg Repairs

Silver gourd with broken leg before and after repair

This gourd was originally purchased in South America. The origin story was a family heirloom. It proved to be a challenging repair because the materials were not standard. Silver from foreign countries can be very unpredictable.

Late 19th/Early 20th-Century Art Nouveau Silver Bowl with Broken foot

The foot on this delicate late 19th/early 20th-Century silver bowl had broken off. I had to be very careful doing this repair. The silver was very thin. I was able to TIG weld the foot back on and strengthen the repair. with wire on the inside. I avoided soldering the leg because that would have made the silver very soft.

Silver Plate Feet Repairs

Feet break very easily on silver plate. Look closely. Is the foot broken or has it detached?
Most legs and feet on 20th century silver plate are made from cast white metal which is both brittle and not very strong. The only possible repair option is using low temperature solder.

Repairing antique and vintage silver plate takes great skill to avoid damaging the silver plating. In addition, the base metal for the feet and legs melt at very close to the same temperature as the solder. These silver objects may not have intrinsic value in the materials, but hold sentimental value.

Broken Feet of a Silver plate water pitcher

Feet often break off silverplate vessels.  The feet can be soldered back with great skill and care. The difficulty is that the low temperature solder is very close to the melting temperature of the cast white metal feet.   

If a foot breaks off your silver plate hollowware be very careful to save this for future repair. There is no replacement parts for matching the other feel. Do not use glue the feet. Glue will not hold.  Repairs on silver plate with glue cost more.