Italian sites like this? Info on Dormac milling machine sought!

B

British Steel

Forum Guest
Register Today
A bit of a strange one - can anyone point me to Italian hobby machinist sites? I'm hunting for info' on my new old milling machine, Italian and I believe a Dormac from about 1962, have drawn a blank in English-language sites and would like to try further afield (nothing on usinages.fr either), knowing the cosmopolitan nature of the membership here I wonder if any Italian members (are there?) could point me in the right direction?

Thanks in advance for ANY help!

Dave H. (the other one)
 
you might try to see if there are some Yahoo groups. Also, look to see if Dormac was marketed under different names in different countries.
 
Thanks John,
I've applied my GoogleNinja skills and still drew a blank, Dormac is definitely the original manufacturer's name (Dormia Macchini, of Dormia, Italy) and there are traces of other models out there, but not the one I have... I've even translated into Italian and searched, there's still a Dormac but they seem to be all-CNC and based in the Netherlands!
I may try emailing them and asking whether they're a) the same organisation and b)have an archive of manuals - the operation of the machine is pretty obvious, all controls have nice clear labelling, but I'd like to get some meaintenance info' before I need it!
I suspect my only hope is to find an Italian site for older machinery, the importer in the UK closed 30 or more years ago... :(

Dave H. (the other one)
 
Do you have a model number or photo of the machine?
 
I have a few pics of the mill, no model number I can find on it... I'm not *certain* it's a Dormac, but the importers Herbert Widdowson & Sons were sole distributors in the UK for Dormac at around the right time (and Dormac were the only mills they imported), and there are some family resemblances (particularly the tilt/swivel head) - if it is a Dormac, the maker's name would be on the missing overarm... All the electrics (motors, contactors etc.) have Italian brand-names and the motors have a 1962 date-stamp.

It's fairly high-spec, 18 speeds to 2000 RPM, power feeds and rapids on all axes, universal (swivel) table, only things missing are the dovetail overarm/arbor support (one day I'll investigate making/having some made) , some travel stops that need making - and a quill!

mill on trailer front countryside.jpg

Dormac RHS scaled.jpg
Dormac LHS.jpg

Oh, what looks like rust is actually a mix of machine oil and mahogany dust from the previous owner's cabinet-making business - and a very good rust inhibitor!

Dave H. (the other one)
 
Searched Doria, Dormac, Doria being a town in Italy gathers lots of hits!

However... yesterday I found an Italian hobbyist site http://meccanicaedintorni.morpel.it/ which has a posting with low-res pics of a very "related-looking" mill from 1960, a "Testa"

image2.jpg image3.jpg image5.jpg

Which has the fairly distinctive handles, push-button start etc. - I think I may be onto something? It's possible that the "Dormac" name was for export markets, or Testa may have been taken over?

It's not identical, but some GoogleNinja on "Testa" may bring up more, Now my bike's mended and MOT tested I shall apply an evening to it...

Dave H. (the other one)
 
Thanks Brino, I sent pics to Tony at .co.uk, he has manuals for a very different Dormac and doubts they'd be any use to me

Dave H. (the other one)
 
Back
Top