In 1939 Carl O. Lassy of Plainville, Connecticut, began making and selling hand tapping guide fixtures. This seems to have begun as Plainville Tool & Die Co., which was registered in 1940 with Lassy as president, Robert P. Sneiderman as vice president, and Henry M. Sneiderman as treasurer and secretary. We don't know exactly what happened but within a couple of years Plainville Tool & Die Co. was apparently still in business at 64 E. Main Street in Plainville, while Lassy was doing business as Lassy Tool Co., out of 96 Bohemia Street in Plainville. The "Plainville Tool & Die Co." name disappeared soon after, while Lassy Tool remains in business today at the same address. By 1966 the business had incorporated as Lassy Tools, Inc. In about 1984 Carl O. Lassy retired and the business went to son William A. "Bill" Lassy. Carl died in 1986. Bill Lassy died in 2016. The business is now operated by David J. Lassy.

Lassy's product line has remained remarkably consistent over the years: machine vises, hand tappers, plus other tools, jigs and fixtures for tool and die makers. In 1978 they made a fireplace insert that used a fan and a series of tubes to capture heat and blow warmed air into the room. Lassy Tools, Inc.'s current product line includes vises, X-Y tables and other work-holding solutions, plus hand tappers.

Information Sources

• 1940 Connecticut corporate registration: "Plainville Tool and Die Co., Inc., Plainville;... 5-29-40; off: pres. Carl O. Lassy of West Hartford, v-pres Robert P. Sneiderman and treas. and sec'y Henry M. Sneiderman, both of Plainville; dir: as officers."
• 1942 Directory of Connecticut Manufacturing and Mechanical Establishments lists, under Plainville, "Lassy Tool Co., 96 Bohemia St. / Tools, dies, fixtures". Also listed is "Plainville Tool & Die Co., Inc., 64 E. Main St. / Tools and dies"
• Trademarks: View trademarks registered to Carl O. Lassy, d.b.a. Lassy Tool Co.
  • US Trademark registration No. 422,515, S/N 484,263, to Carl O. Lassy, class 23, for the word "LASSY", doing business as Lassy Tool Company, Plainville, Conn., filed June 7,1945. "For hand-operated machines for operation on metal in forming threads in holes or sockets and parts of such machines, metal-forming dies, metal-forming punches, and work holders for use in drilling, boring, tapping, milling, planing and grinding applications on metal. / Claims use since Nov. 18, 1943."
  • Trademark registration 822,338, published 1966-11-01 was granted to Carl O. Lassy., d.b.a. Lassy Tool Co., Plainville, Conn., class 23.
  • S/N 146,071, Carl O. Lassy, d.b.a. Lassy Tool Co., Plainville, Conn. Filed 1962-06-04. "RapidLOX" logo. For work-holding devices such as vises, clamps, and fixture locks. First use 1961-05-02.
  • S/N 146,072, Carl O. Lassy, d.b.a. Lassy Tool Co., Plainville, Conn. Filed 1962-06-04. "SlideLOX" logo. For work-holding devices such as vises, clamps, and fixture locks. First use 1961-06-06.
• 1949 Modern Machine Shop, vol. 22 page 262. "Work Holder by the Lassy Tool Co.. 90 Bohemia St., Plainville, Conn. The device includes a hardened and ground round steel insert with vee having a recess for holding objects such as punches with heads, and also having holes to accommodate work stops. The clamps of the unit are case hardened with slots so that the clamps may be quickly reversed without removing screws. The counterbalancing weights provided have eccentric holes for quick and easy balancing. The work holder has a capacity of ? to 2 inches, is 7 inches long x 4½ inches wide x 3 inches high and weighs 8½ lb."
• 1953 Directory of Independent Tool and Die Manufacturers lists "Lassy Tool Co. / 96 Bohemia Street / Plainville", codes (A)1,2,3,4,11,19,21." The codes mean (A) less than 25 employees; 1. Large dies; 2. Medium dies; 3. Small dies; 4. Progressive dies; 11. Jigs and fixtures; 19. Machining service; 21. Development.
• 1953-11-16 Hartford Courant, in an article on a meeting of the Plainville Zoning Board of Appeals: "H. Arthur Gould and Mae R. Lassy ask permission for a small addition to premises occupied by the Lassy Tool Co.. Bohemia Street."
• 1964-05-11 American Machinist, vol. 108 p. 738. "Lassy hand tapper has No 5 to 5/8-in. tap adapters.—Ten tap adapters, from No. 5 to 5/8 in., are finished with this hand tapper which sells for $79. Model No. 10-E is said to provide easy, fast tapping and threading. Features include a spindle balance, a slide lock vise, and a universal tap and die guide that is well-suited for tapping on a jig borer or drill press, and for lathe tapping and threading. Lassy Tool Co., Plainville, Conn."
• 1966 MacRae's Blue Book lists "Lassy Tool Co., 96 Bohemia St., Plainville, Conn."
• 1967 Quality Assurance Register lists Lassy Tools, Inc.
• December 1974 Popular Mechanics shows fireplace heat saver made by Lassy Tools, Inc., 96 Bohemia St., Plainville, Conn. 06062.
• 1985 U.S. Industrial Directory lists Lassy Tool Corp., Plainville CT, as a supplier of pneumatic vises.
• 1985 Directory of New England Manufacturers "LASSY TOOLS INC 96 BOHEMIA ST PLAINVILLE CT 06062... EMPLOYS-5 / GROSS SALES - UNDER 1 MILLION / PRES & TREAS CARL O LASSY / PRODUCT — MACHINE TOOLS, VISES, WORK HOLDERS, DRILL TABLES, PRECISION ANGLE PLATES, HAND TAPPERS, UNIVERSAL TAP AND DIE GLIDES, GANG-VISES, SAFETY DRILL VISES AND DRILL TABLES".
• 1986-02-18 Hartford Courant obituaries. "Carl O. Lassy, 79, of 376 South St., Bristol, husband of May R. (Anderson) Lassy, died Monday (Feb. 17) at home. Mr. Lassy was born Feb. 12, 1907, in Terryville, son of the late Charles and Emma (Kamens) Lassy, and had resided in Bristol for most of his life. In 1939 he founded Lassy Tools Inc. of Plainville and, until his retirement two years ago, owned and operated the company... Besides his wife, he is survived by two sons, Ronald C. Lassy of Woodland Hills, Calif., and William A. Lassy of Forestville... three brothers, Paul G. Lassy of Port St. Lucie, Fla., Richard Lassy of Warwick, R.I...."
• 1988 Index of Trademarks Issued from the United States Patent and Trademark Office lists "Lassy, William A., Plainesville, CT, Lassy, Carl O., Plainville, CT, DBA Lassy Tool Co.: 822,338 Ren 7-19-1988 U.S. Cl. 23 (Int. Cl. 8)."
• 2003-08-15 Hartford Courant obituary: "May R. (Anderson) Lassy, 88, of Bristol, widow of Carl O. Lassy, died on Wednesday (August 13, 2003) at Bristol Hospital. Mrs. Lassy was born in Bristol on March 31, 1915 and was a daughter of the late Andrew and Jenny (Bengston) Anderson. She has lived in Sweden and Plainville before returning to Bristol where she worked in the family business, Lassy Tools, Inc. ..."
• From 2016-12-19 Bristol Observer obituaries. "William A. 'Bill' Lassy, 73, of Bristol, passed away unexpectedly Friday evening, December 16, 2016 at Hospital of Central Connecticut, New Britain General Campus. He was the husband of Grace (Monsees) Lassy. Bill was born in Bristol on November 29, 1943, son of the late Carl and May (Anderson) Lassy. He graduated from Bristol Eastern High School and the Porter School of Engineering Design. Bill was the owner and president of Lassy Tools, Inc. of Plainville, founded by his father in 1939. He enjoyed developing creative solutions to challenging manufacturing problems and was highly regarded for his engineering and manufacturing expertise...."
• Online 2018 obituary: "Carl F. Reicher, 91 of Freedom, NH passed away May 21, 2018 surrounded by his loving family. He was born in New Britain, CT on January 6, 1927 to the late John Reicher and Caroline Hammer Reicher. He attended schools in New Britain including trade school then began work with Lassy Tool. Shortly after he enlisted in the U.S. Navy during WW2 in the fall of 1944..." It appears that Reicher only worked briefly for Lassy Tool Co., in the very early years of the company's existence.