A few months back, the top screw used to adjust the blade angle during vibro-check (red circle shown in the picture attached) suddenly started to stick out (above the horizontal level of the headstage). It wasn't used to like it but now it seems that the 0 level of the blade is always associated with the screw above the horizontal level. I have completely unscrewed it and found nothing inside, except the central rod that the screw would screw onto, is also above the horizontal level. Does anyone have any idea what could have caused it and how to fix? Slice quality seems to have been affected.
Any suggestions will be appreciated!
Dear MiaoMiao,
I use the same vibratom all the time and I find that the cutting angle is critical. Without the right angle you will not be able to optimize your settings (getting them close to zero). Therefore it is not surprising that you are not getting good quality sections. It must be also making some weird annoying noise. If I were you I would contact the company representatitives and ask them to come and have a look at your vibratome. You may need a new screw to adjust your blades.
best wishes,
refik
Hello MiaoMiao
Our lab also uses this vibratome and recently we have had the same problem. In our case, the spring at the bottom of the blade swing arm had become dislodged and resulted in the blade fitting becoming misaligned, hence the screw sticking up. Cutting under these conditions can put a lot of strain on the whole mechanism and result in further very expensive damage (as was our case). We rang our local Leica tech and had the machine serviced as soon as it was possible. As Refik suggested, best to have the company come out and have a look. Good luck!
Cheers Michelle
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