Unreliability and cost of Woodhead springs, leading to a decision to co-operate with supplier Firths.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 9\5\ 05-page097 | |
| Date | 25th June 1937 | |
| -2- Up to the present the manufacture of the Woodhead springs has been unreliable. The attached photograph shows the small eye of one of the latest springs intended for French testing. The eye is .068" from being round. Woodheads before producing unmachined eyes gave us a limit of ± .005 for the diameter. Our experience with Woodheads over Bentley springs showed that the price increase 37% from the first order, until we were paying 16/- more per chassis than Firth's figure. As the spring which we are now testing from Woodheads is an entirely different article to that now supplied by Firths, we are going to co-operate with Firths for the same article. If we ever have another contract with Woodheads, it will be necessary to tie them up most thoroughly with regard to price, quality and deliveries. Rm. {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} | ||
From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).