Machine ID (another what the heck is it?)

Hey, Guys, Great!

Is this group Great or WHAT! Micro tome, Wow.

Originally I was way out in left field. Machine Tool 5B Gray, Metal Castings and a Pick Feed of the first order of cooolness. Now that I look at it again - It is kind of light for metal chips....

Now lets see where's the Dremel, how about precision grinder?? Ebay??

James E. Baldock wrote:

Looks like a microtome. For producing thin sections of tissue samples for microscope slides.

Paul K. Dickman

A microtome, for slicing specimens for microscopy. The missing blade goes in the adjustable holder on the base of the machine, the specimen to be sectioned in the moving clamp.

Ned Simmons

Yup, it's a microtome, very desirable piece of equipment for someone into slicing things exceedingly fine. Weight seems kinda light, my Spencers weigh nearly 70 pounds, and my AO goes about 65. Don't know what new ones go for, or if anyone is making anything other than a cryostat now, but at the time I got my three, new ones were edging close to $10K. Blades are expensive, ten years ago, $200 for the eight inch, $150 for the four inch. Specimen clamp is different than I've ever seen before, the Spencers are made from stainless castings, with most of the internal slides from bronze mounted to a cast housing. The Spencers will slice down to 1 micron, if the knife is sharp and if you hold your tongue right. The knives are very dangerous to handle, when they're dull, they're still sharper than a new razor blade. IF you contact the cutting edge, you WILL be cut. The knife holder on that one looks like it might be from an AO. Interesting toy, but very time consuming to prepare the specimen for sectioning, 23 hours was the quickest I ever got one mounted.

And looking at my old ones, then looking at a new german one, the german one makes me want to puke. If you check, you'll probably find that the plating on the plated parts isn't chrome, but nickel.

One now has to determine if it was Bio type or Semi type.

Micro tomes slice down IC's thin section at a time - shaving down - then photograph, shave - photograph.......

That was the old way - now there are more modern FIB (Focus Ion Beam) that can cut out or lay down material.

Martin