Dear Kevin,
no we don't still have the information or photos we sent to Wild Leitz Aust.
But it is simple to do, just ensure you have enough clearance for fingers at
the bottom of the travel. The greater the radius, the less force required. I
should also point out that a side benefit is that the clamping mechanism
threads do not wear out anywhere near as quickly as is normally the case,
which I'm sure does occur because of the continuous clamping/unclamping to
move the knife block back and forwards esp. during trimming operations; this
is no longer necessary because it gets cranked back instead.
If your address below is complete, at least I can send you a hand drawing.
Regards Mike Rentsch (Downunder)
-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Jan <kjan@sprintmail.com>
To: histomail@netspace.net.au <histomail@netspace.net.au>
Date: Wednesday, 2 June 1999 1:55


>Hello Mike,
>
>Our company has an engineering department, and we are the Leica
distributors
>in Southern California.  I think that idea you have is a very good one, and
>I would like to know if you might still have the info you had sent to
Leica,
>so that we may be able to retrofit the 1512's.
>
>Please let me know.
>
>
>Kevin Jan
>McBain Instruments
>9601 Variel Ave.
>Chatsworth, CA 91311
>Phone: (818)998-2702
>Voicemail: (818)315-9375
>Fax: (818)718-0363
>E-mail: kjan@sprintmail.com
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Histomail\ [mailto:histomail@netspace.net.au]
>> Sent: Tuesday, June 01, 1999 4:28 PM
>> To: Hagerty, Marjorie A.
>> Subject: Re: Automatic Microtomes
>>
>>
>> Dear Marjorie,
>> if you can't get what you want, modify your 1512's by removing the macro
>> advance wheel and getting your engineering dept. to fix to it instead a
>> handle approx 3" - 4" radius with a knob fixed with a brass bush
>> that spins
>> freely, so you only have to grip the knob and crank it like and
>> egg beater.
>> You can now safely use the mechanism to advance and back off for both
>> trimming and sectioning.
>> Believe me it works, and the action is now more evenly distributed
through
>> fingers, hand , wrist and forearm, unlike the standard fitting which
>> concentrates all the action in the wrist accentuating RSI.
>> I did this some 15 years ago when I was doing up to 160 blocks a
>> day (that's
>> embedding and staining the lot), I do much less, but I haven't had a
>> recurrence. My wrist was so dammaged however that I have to be
>> very careful
>> what I lift with my left hand as it is now prone to dislocation simply by
>> lifting a 20 litre drum- but microtomy, I don't have a problem-
>> so easy has
>> the modification made it.
>> We advised Wild/Leitz at the time (now Leica) with photographs etc, incl.
>> calculated forces and work done and they were not even remotely
interested
>> in modifying the 1512 as a single client complaint was not
representitive.
>> Regards Mike (Downunder)
>
>