cases are only air cooled, not quenched. Final polishing takes place in a
large rotating hopper that can contain several thousand cases. The polishing medium is sawdust with the addition of ammonia-free car polish. Home re- loaders, please note. As Bruce pointed out, the sawdust is merely a medium to contain the polish. The fi nal process after polishing is an individual inspec- tion of every case, and this includes bulk orders. As Bruce pointed out, if there was a single case without a fl ash hole he would hear about it! Part of this inspection process may
Final inspection and removing polishing medium.
pierces the flash hole in the primer pocket and the case is annealed again. The case is now fed into a machine that applies the correct taper and sizes the neck to the correct diameter. If the amount of neck sizing is considerable this may in fact be carried out in two or more separate operations, with anneal- ing on the gas ring in between. The head and mouth are trimmed once again to
fi nal diameters and length. The case is now ready for fi nal
annealing. This is a hand-fed operation on a gas ring that is a half circle. It takes 35 seconds for the individual case to traverse the gas burners. Both the height of the ring and the temperature of the fl ame can be controlled and are altered to accommodate a particular case size. It should be noted that after annealing, the
involve removing polishing medium from the flash holes. Cases are then boxed for storage or immediate dis- patch. Larger individual orders are for- warded overseas in large plastic drums that may contain as many as three or four thousand cases, depending on size. The progressive growth of over-
seas sales is a continuing process as the Bertram name becomes more widely known. It is obvious that the Bertram Bullet Company has managed to make short production runs into a profi table business that they can be proud of. It should be noted that new brass sizes are continually being added to the cur- rent range. There is a total of eight staff mem-
bers, including Bruce. Some, like the owner, are shooters themselves. The training of staff members in a particular operation is a continuous process. Bruce himself is very much a “hands on” own- er who is found on the manufacturing fl oor overseeing the whole operation, doing what is needed to keep things running. All this is in addition to the inevitable paper work that is required, and he deals directly with his customers both locally and overseas. The company currently is produc-
ing a limited range of projectiles, start- ing with 156-grain .303 up to 750-grain .577, with quite a few in between in the various .30, .40, and .50 calibres. The author is grateful to Bruce
Bertram and his son David and the rest of the staff who took time and effort to explain the various processes. It was both interesting and educational. Next time you buy some brass, remember, there is much more to producing this product than you think.
Final inspection and removing polishing medium. Page 72 July — September 2011
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