>I have found that the amount of time required for soaking blocks differs 
>but MOST of the animal tissue blocks I cut here have to be soaked at least 
>a little bit. The tissues are well fixed and processed using an old dip 'n 
>dunk type processor (this works great for my animal tissue) and every once 
>in a while I can get by not soaking the blocks after I face them. One 
>thing that also helps is to get the blocks really cold. I like to put a 
>small amount of water on one of those white Tissue Tek Cold Plates but a 
>small amount of water on some ice should do the trick too.

  Andi

.....................................................................
: Andrea Grantham, HT(ASCP)     Dept. of Cell Biology & Anatomy     :
: Sr. Research Specialist       University of Arizona               :
: (office:  AHSC 4212)          P.O. Box 245044                     :
: (voice:  520-626-4415)        Tucson, AZ  85724-5044    USA       :
: (FAX:  520-626-2097)          (email:  algranth@u.arizona.edu)       :
:...................................................................:
           http://www.cba.arizona.edu/histology-lab.html