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Is there anyone that is making quad ferrules for sale.  (Doug Hall)

Tony Young will make 4 slit ferrule. Someone, on the list, once suggested using a 4 sided screw extractor to give the round ferrule a square shape. I wish I could credit the originator of the thought.  (Rich Jezioro)

At Grayrock, J. D. Wagner showed a set of broaches that he uses for quad ferrules.  You might want to check with him.  (Scott Grady)

Another way to do this is take the four slit tabs, crown and thin as usual, build up the ferrule station with small lengths of discarded strips and glue them down, turn the station round up to the tabs, then glue.  Once the ferrule is mounted use small pliers that don't have any serrations to further flatten the tabs.  (Kyle Druey)

Rush River Rods has them.  (Dave Norling)

I know that Tony sells round ferrules with 4 tabs for quads but I don't think he offers broached or squared ferrules for quads.   (Bob Williams)

If you want quad ferrules you need to buy them unserrated from Golden Witch. I bought 6 sets from Tony Larson and had them swagged for Quads, only one set turned out staying straight. I found out from Hal Bacon the problem was the ferrules were serrated, and the ferrules that Golden Witch sells for Quads are not serrated. So then you need to find someone to swag them, or buy the tooling from J.D. Wagner and do them yourself.  (Dave Henney)

Rush River Rods is the one I get mine from, but they are four serrations, not square. The best look is to use Jeff Wagner's tools on step down non-serrated ferrule. Great look.  (Bob Maulucci)

Does anyone have any tips for swaging quad ferrules?  (Steve Dugmore)

I take a tapered square punch and round the corners. Next I open up a big metal vice that will be used to gently force the punch into the ferrule. I heat the nickel silver ferrule end red hot and ease the punch into it with the vice jaws. I also use a pair of flat jaw pliers to flatten the sides as the punch hoes in.

I stop when I get chicken.

Polish everything after it cools.

Works pretty well but it is not very sophisticated.  (Gordon Koppin)

Interesting, Gordon.  It is worth mentioning that some nickel silver winding checks split when I try to work them on my hexing punch, and when I hit a bunch of these the only way I find to get them hexed is to heat them to red hot, so I guess what I am doing is  annealing them, and then tapping them onto the hex tool.

They do discolor during the annealing process, though, and polishing those little slivers of metal is a real pain in the back end. Fortunately, I blue most of my hardware anyway.  (Peter McKean)

Annealing non ferrous metal, heat to dull red and immediately quench in water. You may find it advisable to repeat the procedure after one or more work hardening (drawing, squeezing, or hammering) operations. If transforming round to square, one or more dies may be used to advantage ~ just be sure to allow for stock thickness, and provide a stripper plate or some means of removing part from punch (or punches).  (Vince Brannick)

This is great.

I will be happy not to be swaging very hot ferrules. Heat cool and work. I bought a set of Jeff's punches and they do work a lot better than my jury rigged square screw extractors (I think that was what they were).

Also the lathe seems more controllable.

Learn something everyday around here.  (Gordon Koppin)

The way I anneal the NS for swaging quad ferrules is to stand the little suckers in a tuna fish can (shallow), and fill the can with water up to the point where I want the swaging to end. The slide & barrel portions are down, under water, since I don't want to soften this "working" part of the ferrule.

I heat with a propane torch to a "cherry-straw" color, then knock them over to quench quickly.

Knock wood, I've never had a ferrule split using this method.

I use Jeff Wagner's swaging broaches, and liquid soap for the lubricant. I press in the lathe (ferrule in the head stock, swaging die in the tailstock), to be sure the broach is centered in the ferrule.  (Chris Obuchowski)

A potato makes a good heat sink for this work.  (Bret Reiter)

If you work ferrous metals when they are hot they will break apart on you.  Try heating up a piece of brass sometime & while is is cherry red hit it with a hammer & watch it explode.  (Bret Reiter)

Oh, I don't work them while they are hot.  I only heat them up in order to soften them a bit.

However, Brett, I don't  agree with you about ferrous metals - I have seen too many blacksmiths work ferrous metals while red hot to believe that to be true.  (Peter McKean)

Yes, I meant nonferrous.  When I forge my iron parts for guns I always work them red hot; brass I heat cherry red dunk in water & then work them.  they do work harden so it may take several heatings before I get the butt plate or trigger guard I want out of brass.  I also have to heat the iron parts several times while forging iron parts for guns.

A little slip of the typing finger there.  (Bret Reiter)

Ferrous ~ contains iron. Strike while the iron's hot!

Non- ferrous ~ no iron. Cool rapidly!  (Vince Brannick)

If I said ferrous I meant nonferrous like brass.  (Bret Reiter)