Lehman, Archer & Lane - England

[Leviton]

I found a punch made by a company I hadn't heard of - Lehman, Archer & Lane.







(This is a 7-inch punch that is 1/2-inch hex stock tapering to a 3/16” diameter tip. It is marked "Lehman Archer Lane Co".)

Lehman, Archer & Lane (LAL Ltd.) was involved in the foundation of the British Association (BA) thread form and their tap & die sets are the most common product that I saw in a brief internet search. The Progress Is Fine... blog states that the company dates back to the 1890’s, but I saw another source that said they were founded in 1881. Another source said they incorporated in 1917. They were still in business in 1965. A Google AI pop-up note said they dissolved in 1992.

 

[Dave455]

I know, or at least knew, Lehman Archer and Lane very well. They were my Grandfathers favourite manufacturer of taps and dies, and also of tap wrenches and die stocks! I have a considerable number of the former.

I don’t know a huge amount about the company. They certainly had a factory in the midlands, at Derwent Works, Matlock, and another at Newton Aycliffe, Durham.

I’ve seen it suggested that they “moved” to Ilford in Essex, but as far as I am aware they always had a factory in the London area. They had Farringdon address way back when they were just “Lehman Archer”, and any of the post war literature or packing I have seen has the Ilford address.

Before the war, and even up till the 1960’s, a lot of hand tool manufacture in the U.K. was surprisingly localised. So if you bought a tap or die in the London area, it was more than likely supplied by a “local” firm such as Lehman Archer and Lane, perhaps better known by their trademark - “ L.A.L. Ltd”

I think there was more than “ready availability” behind my Grandfathers decision to favour L.A.L. Their products were always really nice. A bit more “top end” than some of the others. You could see the quality in things like their tap wrenches and die stocks (only really Moore and Wright made comparable) but their taps and dies were high quality too, hence so many have lasted.

It may be that part of the reason for their presence in the London area was the existence of so much aircraft manufacturing. My Father bought some surplus tools when Handley Page closed down, and there was a good concentration of L.A.L. stuff there, so they were obviously one customer.

I’m pretty sure that Lehman Archer and Lane were bought out by Nuckey Scott, another London manufacturer (Warrior), but the L.A.L. name continued, and they even produced some of their best renowned tools in this era - the legendary “Blue Wizard” taps.

”Blue Wizard” taps were subsequently produced by SKF, and then by Osborn, who still offer them (although they are not quite the same quality). Whether either of these companies bought anything from L.A.L. I couldn’t say.

Below is a small L.A.L. die stock I have to hand. Despite age, and a good deal of use, the quality is evident.


I don’t think I’ve ever seen punches by L.A.L. so maybe a later item, or just something I have never looked out for?

 

[Leviton]

I know, or at least knew, Lehman Archer and Lane very well. They were my Grandfathers favourite manufacturer of taps and dies, and also of tap wrenches and die stocks! I have a considerable number of the former.

I don’t know a huge amount about the company. They certainly had a factory in the midlands, at Derwent Works, Matlock, and another at Newton Aycliffe, Durham.

I’ve seen it suggested that they “moved” to Ilford in Essex, but as far as I am aware they always had a factory in the London area. They had Farringdon address way back when they were just “Lehman Archer”, and any of the post war literature or packing I have seen has the Ilford address.

Before the war, and even up till the 1960’s, a lot of hand tool manufacture in the U.K. was surprisingly localised. So if you bought a tap or die in the London area, it was more than likely supplied by a “local” firm such as Lehman Archer and Lane, perhaps better known by their trademark - “ L.A.L. Ltd”

I think there was more than “ready availability” behind my Grandfathers decision to favour L.A.L. Their products were always really nice. A bit more “top end” than some of the others. You could see the quality in things like their tap wrenches and die stocks (only really Moore and Wright made comparable) but their taps and dies were high quality too, hence so many have lasted.

It may be that part of the reason for their presence in the London area was the existence of so much aircraft manufacturing. My Father bought some surplus tools when Handley Page closed down, and there was a good concentration of L.A.L. stuff there, so they were obviously one customer.

I’m pretty sure that Lehman Archer and Lane were bought out by Nuckey Scott, another London manufacturer (Warrior), but the L.A.L. name continued, and they even produced some of their best renowned tools in this era - the legendary “Blue Wizard” taps.

”Blue Wizard” taps were subsequently produced by SKF, and then by Osborn, who still offer them (although they are not quite the same quality). Whether either of these companies bought anything from L.A.L. I couldn’t say.

Below is a small L.A.L. die stock I have to hand. Despite age, and a good deal of use, the quality is evident.


I don’t think I’ve ever seen punches by L.A.L. so maybe a later item, or just something I have never looked out for?

Great information. Thanks for adding to the knowledge base about the company!
Do you know of any tools that they produced besides threading related products?

 

[Dave455]

Great information. Thanks for adding to the knowledge base about the company!

My pleasure!

Do you know of any tools that they produced besides threading related products?

To be honest, no!

All I’ve ever seen of theirs are taps, dies and accessories.

I must admit I still keep an eye out for their taps and dies. They must have been made in considerable numbers as I still occasionally find examples in apparently new condition.

I’m sure they must have made other things, certainly in wartime at least, but I’ve never seen any other tools with their name. Given his liking for the firm, I feel certain my Grandfather would have acquired other tools of theirs if they were available.

In honesty, I have never even seen the punches like yours. The wording on the makers mark is slightly unusual as the “L.A.L” mark was commonly used, possibly because it was easier to stamp, and possibly because of the negative connotations of the name “Lehmann” at certain times…!

 

[humber2]

I know, or at least knew, Lehman Archer and Lane very well. They were my Grandfathers favourite manufacturer of taps and dies, and also of tap wrenches and die stocks! I have a considerable number of the former.

I don’t know a huge amount about the company. They certainly had a factory in the midlands, at Derwent Works, Matlock, and another at Newton Aycliffe, Durham.

I’ve seen it suggested that they “moved” to Ilford in Essex, but as far as I am aware they always had a factory in the London area. They had Farringdon address way back when they were just “Lehman Archer”, and any of the post war literature or packing I have seen has the Ilford address.

Before the war, and even up till the 1960’s, a lot of hand tool manufacture in the U.K. was surprisingly localised. So if you bought a tap or die in the London area, it was more than likely supplied by a “local” firm such as Lehman Archer and Lane, perhaps better known by their trademark - “ L.A.L. Ltd”

I think there was more than “ready availability” behind my Grandfathers decision to favour L.A.L. Their products were always really nice. A bit more “top end” than some of the others. You could see the quality in things like their tap wrenches and die stocks (only really Moore and Wright made comparable) but their taps and dies were high quality too, hence so many have lasted.

It may be that part of the reason for their presence in the London area was the existence of so much aircraft manufacturing. My Father bought some surplus tools when Handley Page closed down, and there was a good concentration of L.A.L. stuff there, so they were obviously one customer.

I’m pretty sure that Lehman Archer and Lane were bought out by Nuckey Scott, another London manufacturer (Warrior), but the L.A.L. name continued, and they even produced some of their best renowned tools in this era - the legendary “Blue Wizard” taps.

”Blue Wizard” taps were subsequently produced by SKF, and then by Osborn, who still offer them (although they are not quite the same quality). Whether either of these companies bought anything from L.A.L. I couldn’t say.

Below is a small L.A.L. die stock I have to hand. Despite age, and a good deal of use, the quality is evident.


I don’t think I’ve ever seen punches by L.A.L. so maybe a later item, or just something I have never looked out for?

I was lazy to search just Lehman Archer into Graces Guide and an ad for the forerunner to your die stock is shown.

Interesting is all the thread forms but nothing above 1/2” at that time?

Great tooling, I have a few sets myself.

 

[Dave455]

I was lazy to search just Lehman Archer into Graces Guide and an ad for the forerunner to your die stock is shown.

Interesting. I don’t really know how old my die stock is. As can be seen, they made some of the patterns almost unchanged for decades.

I bought mine used, like the majority of tap wrenches and die stocks I own. They don’t really wear out, and the quality is way better than most newer tools.

Interesting is all the thread forms but nothing above 1/2” at that time?

They made taps and dies up to quite big sizes.

I think I tracked down the ad you mentioned.


This particular ad is for their “Handy” series of dies, which were of one inch diameter, hence not available in the larger sizes.

At the time, standard British die sizes were 13/16“, 1 5/16“, 1 1/2“, etc. The 13/16“ were the standard size for BA sizes, and the 1 5/16“was pretty much the standard workshop size, so the one inch dies were something of a novelty.

Even now, I have far more 13/16” and 1 5/16“ than one inch.

Great tooling, I have a few sets myself.

I’m fortunate to own L.A.L. die stocks up to 2 1/4”.

Here’s the small one resting on it’s bigger brother!

 

[humber2]

Thanks for the 1 inch revelation, I was sure there was much more in sizes and sets available.

I’ll reassess the Handy sets in my mind as entry level.