Lisle Corporation is an American manufacturer of
auto mechanic
An auto mechanic (automotive technician in most of North America, light vehicle technician in British English, and motor mechanic in Australian English) is a mechanic who services and repairs automobiles, sometimes specializing in one or more ...
's specialty
tools
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
. It is an independent,
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
corporation that has been operated in
Clarinda, Iowa by members of the Lisle family since its founding in 1903.
The company manufactures more than 400 different
automotive tools and related items, including the Jeepers Creepers line of mechanic's creepers, and its products are sold at US retailers, including
Carquest Auto Parts and
Sears.
History
Lisle was founded in 1903 by C.A. Lisle, originally manufacturing
horse-powered
well-
drilling machines.
Lisle's product for the automotive market was an
aftermarket master vibrator for the
Ford Model T engine, replacing the engine's four
trembler coils with a cheaper and more easily adjusted single unit. It then introduced its first tool, an
engine valve refacer, a type of
lathe
A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to c ...
for reshaping a
cylinder head's
valve seats.
In the 1930s, the company added a line of magnetic
oil pan drain plugs, which were used by the military in
World War II. In 1943, the company was one of several to win the
Army-Navy "E" Award. After the war, the company began to focus on specialty automotive tools.
Gallery
Image:Lisle flywheel turner.jpeg, A flywheel or flex plate turner.
References
External links
*
{{Tool manufacturers
American brands
Auto parts suppliers of the United States
Automotive tool manufacturers
Tool manufacturing companies of the United States
American companies established in 1903
Manufacturing companies established in 1903
Manufacturing companies based in Iowa
Privately held companies based in Iowa
Clarinda, Iowa
1903 establishments in Iowa