Judson Brennan: Alaskan Longrifle Artisan: Color Case-Hardening a Lock

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Color Case-Hardening a Lock

In this sequence Jud tightly packs the finely polished parts of a finished lock into a rugged steel box containing bone charcoal and buries the box in the middle of the lit forge, slowly bringing up the temperature to 1550 degrees F.

After the box and its contents reaches the correct heat, the parts are heat soaked for about 2 hours. At the end of this time, the entire contents of the box is dumped quickly into water. Surface hardening of the mild steel has now occurred and the polished surfaces have taken on beautiful oxidation colors as shown in the final picture.

Judson J. Brennan was born in Lansing Michigan where he developed an interest in early American longrifles, especially the beautiful and artistic flintlock rifles that were hand made by artisans during the Golden Age of American frontier craftsmanship.

Thanks to the friendship and encouragement of mentors like Roy Keeler, as a young man Jud was able to actually handle and inspect the construction, and the proportion and balance of original Pennsylvania Kentucky rifles. He then set out to teach himself the techniques required to build, carve and engrave contemporary examples of these rifles. His work has been featured in many books and articles on the craft and artistry of these tools of the American pioneers.

In 1985 Judson fulfilled a lifelong dream by moving to Alaska where he settled with his family on Tenderfoot hill, 29 miles North of Delta Junction Alaska.

It is here that he built his house, his workshop, and his forge and it is here that he and his sons Jesse, David and Seth produce handmade historical arms and accoutrements in the traditional manner.

The purpose of this blog is to illuminate the beautiful and artistic works of this unique Alaskan family.

The author is collaborating with Jesse Brennan to present a new website for his work:

http://jessebrennanartsmith.blogspot.com

The author of this blog is Peter Marshall. He is a family physician in North pole, Alaska and has known Judson and his family since they arrived in Alaska in 1985. The author has a companion blog featuring his explorations around the State of Alaska.

It is called:

"Adventures of an Arctic Pilot" and it can be found on the web at:

http://k-syrahsyrah.blogspot.com/