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).
Binding issue with a change speed lever shaft's bronze bush and proposing a new design using a steel bush.
Identifier | ExFiles\Box 67\1\ scan0122 | |
Date | 7th February 1925 | |
X8380 TO R.{Sir Henry Royce} FROM AJS. SECRET. AJS3/M7.2.25. COPY to CL. 'W' SERIES. C. to Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} UNDER-FRAME. Herewith we send a print of LeC. 1995, a scheme shewing an improved change speed lever shaft which has been delayed by various other items, but which we thought worth while completing, particularly in view of the fact that an observation of a unit of the existing design removed from its gearbox and held in a vice while forces were applied shewed just the same catching or binding action as when on the car. It was noted that this took place immediately and all the time the bronze bush slid in the aluminium. Any amount of force appeared to cause no trouble when the shaft moved in the bush. (It will probably be as well for HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} to confirm this.) On the model designed thus [Drawing of a shaft and bush assembly] THIS BUSH APPEARED PERFECTLY FREE IN THE ALUMINIUM the bronze bush appeared to be quite free in the aluminium when the shaft was removed. The aluminium looked soft and seemed to bind on the bronze. A steel bush appeared to mitigate the trouble only in a small degree. The design put forward in LeC 1995. has the idea of (1) eliminating possible out of alignment of the shaft bearings, (2) eliminating shaft bush sliding in the aluminium, and (3) according to information received from Derby lessening the cost of producing the steel tubular casing by machining from square bar in place of brazing a drop forging on a tube, and (4) of using a swaged tube for the inner shaft in place of the drilled up bar as shewn hitherto. Incidentally the job is a little neater owing to the cancellation of overhung aluminium casting, (indicated on drawing.) We have sent the drawing to Derby but have asked BY.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} not to go ahead issuing instructions until receiving sanction from as we were not sure whether you would like to go to the ball bearing type as suggested by HS.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} in his HS{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}3/LG21125., or give the plain bearing scheme another chance by eliminating possible doubts in the construction as we had it before. AJS. | ||