Tool Room

The Tool Room was situated on the uppermost floor and comprised two sections: the original in the older building and another part in the newer extension, added to the factory in the early 1950s.

View Department Location (tool room) View Department Location (tool room ext)

Separating the two sections was a dividing wall and a large automatic roller-shutter fire door (which was always open).

The work carried out in each section was different, with the 'older' tool room responsible for producing and maintaining all the jigs, fixtures and special gauges needed in the factory's machine shops

In contrast, the work in the tool room extension tended to be more creative and associated with development and the manufacture of one-off parts for the race shop.

Although there was one overall manager, the extension was overseen by a separate charge-hand

The range of equipment used in the tool room was similar to that found in the other factory departments, with the addition of specialist machines such as jig borers, shapers, radial drills and spark eroders that were needed for tooling.

Many of the personnel would have been "promoted" to the tool room from the machine shops, due to their higher skill levels and work accuracy, together with an ability to problem solve when the occasion called for it.

Others would have remained in the tool room after having spent the final year or so of their apprenticeship there, learning the trade first hand.

You can view other Tool Room Group photos, taken prior to Xmas holidays, on the Scrapbook page.

 

Tool Room Personnel

Stan Bassett
Dennis Boney	1960-61	Toolmaker
Roy Carnell	1950-53
Gordon (Jack) Conolly		Race shop support
Bill Crayford	?-1969	Manager
Roy Cunningham	1965-66	Jig Borer
Alec Dodd	c.1953	Manager
Wilf Graham		(extension)
Bill Greene
Bert Ilsley		Manager (pre-Crayford)
Ted Lewis		Jig Borer
Bill Maurice
Bill Mitchell		-TRX
Eddie Pettit		Chargehand (extension)
Bob Pratt	?-1969	Churchill grinder
? Seabrook		Lathe
Clary Simmonds		Shaper
Charlie Sylvester		Centre lathe (extension)
Charlie Tassell
Leslie Vickary		Horizontal mill (extension)
Billy Watts	1950s	Vertical mill
Bert White	?-1969	Fitter
Nelson Wolsey		Vertical Mill