Slide 1

Guide to the Reichert-Jung Ultra-Microtome Slide 2 On/OffReset Auto Advance: Fine Adjust Presets Light Buttons (2) Magnification Focus Coarse Advance Knob Handwheel Binoculars Green button-motor start/stop Slide 3 Knife - Side to Side Knife lock - front to back Knife Holder with tightener Knife rotator Block angle adjust Block Holder Knife base position triangle Slide 4 Trimming the block Use a single edged razor blade, to shave off thin pieces of excess resin. Shape the block so that you have 4, ~45 sloped sides. The blade will dull, so move to a sharp part every few cuts. A trapezoid or square are good shapes for the block face, remember to keep the top and bottom parallel to each other. Side View Top View Before Trimming After Trimming Sample Angled Side View Slide 5 Press and hold the reset button of the microtomes control box. It will beep when it is done resetting. Check the Knife base position triangle Turn the coarse advance knob until the bottom line of the triangle is barely visible. Place trimmed block into Block base, tighten side screw. Place block base in block holder on the arm of microtome, (long edge of the trapezoid down), tighten side screw. Place Knife in knife holder, tighten side screw. Fill knife boat with water. Water tension should pull the waters edge up to the knife edge. The water level should then dip, away from the knife edge. Unlock the knife and push it towards the block, about 2mm apart. Using the knife side-to-side adjuster, align the block to the side of the knife for thick sections, at the first place where the edge is flat. Using the block angle adjust, roughly tilt the block so the the face is parallel with the back of the knife. Water level knife Setting up the Microtome Block BeforeAfter knife Slide 6 Smoothing a rough faced block (if you do not see a reflection) The block face surface needs to be smooth and shiny to see the reflection. Move the block down below the knife edge (with handwheel), and move the block forward (with the coarse advance knob) until you see the block touch the flat face (back) of the knife. Move the block back slightly so that it no longer touches the knife (