A couple of notes may be helpful:
1) I believe that Phil Wood sold the business outrijht several years ago, so whatever his practices were, they are no longer relevant.
2) There was certainly a design defect with one early generation of Phil BBs: a sharp-shouldered circlip groove to locate the cartridge bearing. They broke at the stress riser.
3) We've used a lot of Phil hubs and bbs on tandems. I do remember one bearing failure 20 ers ago, but think them pretty bullet-proof.
4) Phil should be credited for bringing a modern product to market real early. Cartridge bearings, well supported spoke bedding, and oversized, lightweight spindles for stiffness. Phil has built world-class stuff.
5) Yes, the disk brake was "idiosyncratic" or "weird" I still use one -- but gingerly, since the strippable disk is no longer available.
6) Disclaimer: Phil did replace a hub once when a flange cracked. I appreciated it.
harvey sachs
mcLean va