Teapot repair

Jewelry Discussion
1

Looking for some one that can repair the hinge that has broken off
on a churches teapot lid. Who can do this or direct me to a good
source that can do it?

Thanks
Jeff Ellis

2

Hi Jeff,

The person you want to this is Jeffrey Herman of Society of American
Silversmithing.

Karen Christians, Director
M E T A L W E R X
School for Jewelry and the Metalarts
50 Guinan St.
Waltham, MA 02451
781 891 3854
www.metalwerx.com

3

Hi Jeff,

I am not sure of your location, but in the Bay Area(meaning No.
Calif) we have several placees that do excellent repairs on
teaports…They Are Monsen’s Co. in Oakland on the Berkeley border.
And in San Francisco you can go to Biro & Sons that is located south
of Market St. The reason I suggest them over my husband & I is that
they are also commercial platers the wok silver & silver plate…Plus
they have the tanks to do gold lining if that is needed…Take care &
good luck.

Jo-Ann & John Donivan
http://www.donivanandmaggiora.com

4

Hi Jeff;

Looking for some one that can repair the hinge that has broken off
on a churches teapot lid.

I’ve got something like that repair I just took in the other day. If
it’s what I think it is, it’s really quite easy to repair. I can do
it for you, as I’ve done these countless times, but you might just
want to try it yourself. Check the broken join with a graver or
scraper, and you’ll probably see that it’s a soft solder.

Those hinges that often break off are actually sweat soldered with a
low temperature solder. The knobs and handles are often attached the
same way. Just scrape the surfaces of the solder joints where they
parted a little, to remove any oxidation. Then, get some “Ruby Flux”.
It’s for use with what we used to call “radio solder”, comes in a
yellow tin, can be purchased in just about any hardware store. Flux
it up good, set it in place, then just start warming it with your
torch until you can see the solder start to flow. Don’t move it for a
while, you need to let the solder completely solidify. Clean it up
with soap and water and you’re done. Another approach would be to
clean the join where it broke, use some “Tix” flux and solder, which
Stuller and Rio carry, and renew the solder joint. There are a
couple things that can go wrong, but they’re easy to avoid. If the
solder doesn’t want to stick, it’s an oxide problem and requires
better cleaning of the joint. Resist the urge to increase the heat,
or you risk spreading the solder onto the piece or damaging the
plating. I know you’re good with a torch so this should be easy for
you. Good luck.

David L. Huffman