Hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard (HDF), is a type of

fiberboard Fiberboard (American English) or fibreboard (Commonwealth English) is a type of engineered wood product that is made out of wood fibers. Types of fiberboard (in order of increasing density) include particle board or low-density fiberboard (LDF ...

, which is a ''

pressed wood ''Pressed'' is a 2011 Canadian crime drama film directed by Justin Donnelly and starring Luke Goss, Tyler Johnston, Jeffrey Ballard, and Michael Eklund. It is the debut directing project for Justin Donnelly. Plot Business executive Brian Parker ...

'' or ''

engineered wood Engineered wood, also called mass timber, composite wood, man-made wood, or manufactured board, includes a range of derivative wood products which are manufactured by binding or fixing the strands, particles, fibres, veneers, or boards of wood, ...

'' product. It is used in furniture and in the construction industry.

Description

Hardboard is similar to

particle board Particle board, also known as particleboard or chipboard, is an engineered wood product, belonging to the wood-based panels, manufactured from wood chips and a synthetic, mostly formaldehyde-based resin or other suitable binder, which is presse ...

and

medium-density fiberboard Medium-density fibreboard (MDF) is an engineered wood product made by breaking down hardwood or softwood residuals into wood fibre, often in a defibrator, combining it with wax and a resin binder, and forming it into panels by applying high tempe ...

, but is denser, stronger and harder because it is made out of exploded

wood fiber Wood fibres (also spelled wood fibers, see spelling differences) are usually cellulosic elements that are extracted from trees and used to make materials including paper. The end paper product (paper, paperboard, tissue, cardboard, etc.) dictate ...

s that have been highly compressed. The density of hardboard is higher than , usually about . It differs from particle board and medium-density fiberboard in that the bonding of the wood fibers requires no additional adhesive, the original

lignin Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidit ...

in the wood fibers sufficing to bond the hardboard together, although

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

is often added. Hardboard is produced in either a wet or dry process. The wet process, known as the Mason Method, leaves one smooth side and one textured side as a wire mesh is used to allow moisture to escape. Dry processed hardboard is smooth on both sides.

Masonite Masonite board Back side of a masonite board Isorel, Quartrboard, Masonite Corporation, Masonite, also called Quartboard or pressboard, is a type of engineered wood made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood or paper fibers. The fibers ...

is produced using the wet process only. In Europe today, the same type of fibreboard product generated by the wet process, is named as ''

Natural Fibre Board ''Natural Fibre Board (NFB)'', or otherwise natural fibreboard or natural fiberboard, is a registered European trademark representing wood fibre boards produced without the use of binding agents, for instance, formaldehyde-based resins or other sy ...

'', and this is a registered trademark.

History

A product resembling hardboard was first made in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1898 by hot pressing waste paper.Akers, 1966, p. x In the 1900s, fiber building board of relatively low density was manufactured in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. At around the same time the first commercially produced MDF was developed in 1966 in

Deposit, New York Deposit is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Delaware County, New York, Delaware County, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 1,427.United States Census Bureau, 2020 U.S. ...

, United States. In the early 1920s, improved methods of compressing wet wood pulp at high temperatures resulted in a higher density product.

Uses

Unlike

solid wood Solid wood is a term most commonly used to distinguish between ordinary lumber and engineered wood, but it also refers to structures that do not have hollow spaces. Engineered wood products are manufactured by binding together wood strands, fiber ...

, hardboard is very

homogeneous Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts relating to the uniformity of a substance, process or image. A homogeneous feature is uniform in composition or character (i.e., color, shape, size, weight, height, distribution, texture, language, i ...

with no grain. A

wood veneer Veneer refers to thin slices of wood and sometimes bark that typically are glued onto core panels (typically, wood, particle board or medium-density fiberboard) to produce flat panels such as doors, tops and panels for cabinets, parquet fl ...

can be

glue Adhesive, also known as glue, cement, mucilage, or paste, is any non-metallic substance applied to one or both surfaces of two separate items that binds them together and resists their separation. The use of adhesives offers certain advantage ...

d onto it to give the appearance of solid

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

. Other overlays include

Formica ''Formica'' is a genus of ants of the subfamily Formicinae, including species commonly known as wood ants, mound ants, thatching ants, and field ants. ''Formica'' is the type genus of the Formicidae, and of the subfamily Formicinae. The type ...

, laminated papers, and

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...

. It has many uses, such as a substrate. It is used in

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

flooring Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. ...

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s and

cabinetry A cabinet is a case or cupboard with shelves or drawers for storing or displaying items. Some cabinets are stand alone while others are built in to a wall or are attached to it like a medicine cabinet. Cabinets are typically made of wood (solid ...

, and is popular among acrylic and oil painters as a painting surface due to its economical price (though it must be coated with

gesso A restored gesso panel representing St. Martin of Tours, from St. Michael and All Angels Church, Lyndhurst, Hampshire Gesso (; 'chalk', from the , from ), also known as "glue gesso" or "Italian gesso", is a white paint mixture used to coat rigi ...

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable Plain weave, plain-woven Cloth, fabric used for making sails, tents, Tent#Marquees and larger tents, marquees, backpacks, Shelter (building), shelters, as a Support (art), support for oil painting and for other ite ...

before use). Hardboard has often been used as the surface material in

clipboard A clipboard is a thin, rigid writing board with a clip at the top for holding paper in place. A clipboard is typically used to support paper with one hand while writing on it with the other, especially when other writing surfaces are not avail ...

s, especially older models. It is also used as the final layer in many skateboard ramps and the

half-pipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, freestyle BMX, skating, and scooter riding. Overview The structure resembles a cross-section of a swimming pool, essentially two concave ramps ...

. Hardboard is also used extensively in theatrical environments, often used as the final painted surface of a stage and on walking surfaces of constructed scenery. Hardboard is also used to make puzzles, game boards, and other toys. Tempered hardboard is a hardboard that has been coated with a thin film of

linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colorless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

and then baked; this gives it more water resistance, impact resistance, hardness, rigidity and

tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (also called UTS, tensile strength, TS, ultimate strength or F_\text in notation) is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials, the ultimate ...

. An earlier tempering process involved immersing the board in linseed oil or

tung oil Tung oil or China wood oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree (''Vernicia fordii''). Tung oil hardens upon exposure to air (through polymerization), and the resulting coating is transparent and has a d ...

until it was 5 to 6 percent saturated, and heating to . Tempered hardboard is used in construction siding. Pegboard

Perforated hardboard Perforated hardboard is tempered hardboard which is pre-drilled with evenly spaced holes. The holes are used to accept pegs or hooks to support various items, and perforated hardboards are therefore used for purposes such as tool boards in worksh ...

, also called pegboard, is tempered hardboard that has a uniform array of holes in it, into which tool-hanging hooks or store fixtures can be placed. Hardboard has become less popular in the construction industry in recent years due to new environmental targets to procure more sustainable temporary protection materials.

Citations

Works cited

* Akers, L. E. (1966). ''Particle Board and Hardboard''. Oxford: Pergamon Press. . * Frane, J. T. (1994). ''Craftsman's Illustrated Dictionary of Construction Terms''. Carlsbad, CA: Craftsman Book. .

External links