What the Puck?
Precision Sawguide Pucks – Zero Babbitt. Maximum Uptime.
Our advanced Sawguide Pucks use a low-friction, high-performance polymer to support the saw—completely eliminating the need for Babbitt. The result? Safer operation, reduced downtime, and extended component life in demanding production environments.
The Problem with Babbitt Pads in Saw Guides
Babbitt pad failures can cause serious operational challenges in sawmills. One of the most common issues is overheating, which can lead to loss of saw tension and, in extreme cases, saw folding during operation.
Common Causes:
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Poor coolant pocket design – ineffective coolant flow increases friction and heat.
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Excessive contact area – creates unnecessary drag and accelerates wear.
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Outdated or worn-out guide designs – reduce cutting precision and reliability.
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Increased feed and speed rates – modern production demands place greater stress on traditional Babbitt pads.
To address these problems, some mills switch to aluminum bronze wear pads or composite materials to reduce friction and extend guide life, while others improve coolant delivery or redesign pad geometry. But these approaches still require periodic pad replacement and the hazards of molten Babbitt handling.
The Sawguide Puck Solution
Our Precision Sawguide Pucks are engineered from a low-friction, high-performance polymer, completely eliminating the need for Babbitt.
Key Advantages:
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Zero molten Babbitt hazards – no molds, melting, or pouring.
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Targeted maintenance – quick measurement checks let you shim for extended life or replace only worn pucks.
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Extended service life – proven to last up to 10 shifts per set in demanding applications that once required multiple pad changes per shift.
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Built-in diagnostics – wear patterns help detect potential saw misalignment early.
Result: Higher uptime, safer operation, and lower maintenance costs.
Frequenty Asked Questions:
How are the pucks surfaced?
So far we have been using the existing babbitt grinders to resurface the pucks when they are first installed, and if they are shimmed.
How do I extend the life of the pucks?
In a perfect world, everything would be alligned, the gap would stay the same, and the pucks would not touch the saws. In reality, that is almost never the case. In order to extend the life, we have shims that can be placed behind the pucks so that you can get multiple resurfacings out of one puck. The modular design also allows for only the worn pucks to be replaced.
Babbitt is forgiving in a crash - Are the pucks as forgiving?
Cants get stuck regardless of how well aligned the machine is. The pucks can handle much higher load stress than Babbitt, but there is still enough give to allow the saw to lean. We had a case where a cant got stuck in our testing at Lasalle. A saw in their quad edger leaned over and took out the two leading edge pucks. There was still enough support from the other 3 pucks to continue operating after the cant was removed. On the scheduled guide change, one leading puck was replaced, and the other was shimmed and resurfaced.