Deeley discover a lathe and help local charity

A piece of valuable machinery left for scrap in a Nuneaton shed has turned out to be worth its weight in gold for a local business and a local charity.

An outgoing tenant of a Deeley Group property in Bermuda Village left behind a 40-year-old lathe in the garden shed – which was almost impossible to move due its weight of three quarters of a tonne.

Deeley sought a buyer for the valuable shaping machine to save it from scrap – and local businessman George Brannigan snapped it up.

George’s company, G B Boilers, will now expand its product line – which currently focuses solely on boilers for model steam trains.

The discovery of the lathe has also benefited Nuneaton’s Mary Ann Evans Hospice charity, with Deeley donating the £100 paid for the lathe to the appeal. G B Boilers has also donated £50.

Jo Leaver, of Deeley, said: “While inspecting the contents of the shed following the departure of our tenant, we found an original, old cast iron piece of machinery – definitely too good to scrap.

“It was then discovered that the lathe was the Rolls Royce of its type and the decision was made to sell it and raise money for charity.

“We chose to donate the money to Mary Ann Evans Hospice because it is a Nuneaton charity and we always try to support local causes.

“We’re really happy it was bought by someone local, especially as George intends to use the lathe for the purpose it was built and could now strengthen his business.”

George, who started his business 10 years ago, said the benefits of the machinery are endless.

“At the moment I have to make the holes in the boilers by hand, because there aren’t any machines apart from a lathe that can do the job,” he said.

“The lathe is the only tool that can do it but because they are so old, they’re very difficult to find. It’s unbelievable that there was one discovered and put up for sale on my doorstep.

“Now I will be able to make the boilers much quicker and I’m planning to expand the business.”

For more information about G B Boilers, email George Brannigan at gb.boilers@sky.com or contact him on 07817 269164.

Picture caption: Left to right, Janet Griffin of Mary Ann Evans Hospice, Jo Leaver of Deeley, and George Brannigan of G B Boilers.