A high precision specimen stage is essential for the accurate recording of images for three-dimensional reconstruction. The efficient calculation and resolution of a “tomographic type” three-dimensional reconstruction is influenced by the precision of the angular tilt settings. The ability to identify structures at low magnification and later return to them for detailed study at high magnification is crucial to the efficient study of structures by serial section reconstruction, and is greatly aided by a precise, repeatable translation stage. To study such problems, we have designed and fabricated a single-tilt specimen stage for our high-voltage electron microscope (HVEM), which represents a different design philosophy to that usually employed in side entry stages for transmission electron microscopes.