Masonite
Description
Formerly a registered trademark (Masonite Corp.) for a type of Hardboard construction material first made in 1924 by William H. Mason. The term 'masonite' is now a generic term. The Masonite Corp. was purchased by the Premdor Corp. in 2001.
Masonite was made by a wet process Fiberboard composed of fine wood fibers compressed into a dense, rigid sheet with heat. The fibers are held together by the natural binders from the pulp with no additional adhesive. Masonite boards do not bend or warp easily but the sheets are brittle and break under pressure. The boards are brown in color with one very smooth surface; the reverse side has a wire screen impression. Some artists have coated the rough surface with gesso and used it as a painting support. Tempered Masonite Presdwood was prepared with an oil that adds weather resistance to the board, but makes it less receptive to Paint or Gesso.
Synonyms and Related Terms
Presdwood; hardboard; fiberboard; high-density board
Risks
Any wood product may release organic acids with time.
Resources and Citations
- Wikipedia: Masonite Accessed Nov. 2024
- C. Gould, K. Konrad, K. Milley, R. Gallagher, "Fiberboard", Twentieth-Century Building Materials, T. Jester (ed.), McGraw-Hill: New York, 1995.
- A.Katlan, "Early Wood-Fiber Panels: Masonite, Hardboard and Lower-Density Boards" JAIC 33:301-306, 1994.
- Website: http://www.masonite.com/COMPANY/HISTORY.asp - first made in 1924 by William H. Mason Note: this website has been discontinued