View source for Masonite

{{Short description|Engineered wood made of steamed and pressure-molded fibers}}
{{for|the manufacturer of doors and related products|Masonite International}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{refimprove|date=April 2021}}
{{Lead too short|date=December 2024}}
}}
[[file:Masonit framsida.jpg|thumb|Masonite board]]
[[file:Masonit baksida.jpg|thumb|Back side of a masonite board]]
[[file:Isorel.jpg|thumb|Isorel, {{circa|1920}}]]
[[file:Quartrboard.jpg|thumb|Quartrboard,<ref>[http://trademarks.justia.com/712/68/quartrboard-71268992.html Quartrboard. First Use Anywhere Date: 1927-05-13]</ref> Masonite Corporation, {{circa|1930}}]]

'''Masonite''', also called '''Quartboard''' or '''pressboard''',<ref>[https://archive.org/details/MasoniteInsulationPresdwoodQuartboardLathTemperedPresdwood Masonite: insulation, presdwood, quartboard, lath, tempered presdwood, tempritile, cushioned flooring. (1935)]</ref> is a type of [[engineered wood]] made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood or paper fibers. The fibers form a stiff, dense material in a range of weights.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is Pressboard and Pressed Wood? {{!}} Definition of Pressboard and Pressed Wood|url=https://kitchencabinetkings.com/glossary/pressboard-pressed-wood/|access-date=2021-08-01|website=Kitchen Cabinet Kings|language=en-US}}</ref>

The process was formulated and patented by American inventor [[William H. Mason]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.masonite.com/masonite_history.php |title=The History of Masonite |access-date=2011-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020213919/http://www.masonite.com/masonite_history.php |archive-date=2011-10-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Masonite has been widely used in traditional school and office products such as [[Coil binding|spiral-bound]] notebooks and three-ring binders, but its unique physical characteristics lend themselves readily to a variety of end-uses, including (but not limited to) document storage, filing supplies (classification and file folders), report covers, folding cartons, tags, labels, and industrial applications.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bhel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rWgarr659pgC&dq=Pressboard&pg=PA52|title=Transformers|date=2003-01-01|publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill Education|isbn=978-0-07-048315-6|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Staff|first=British Standards Institute|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=auziPAAACAAJ|title=Insulating Liquids. Oil-Impregnated Paper and Pressboard. Determination of Water by Automatic Coulometric Karl Fischer Titration|date=1998-02-15|publisher=B S I Standards|isbn=978-0-580-29356-6|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Harlow|first=James H.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h2Es9vpaKhQC&q=Pressboard|title=Electric Power Transformer Engineering, Third Edition|date=2012-05-16|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4398-5629-1|language=en}}</ref>

== History ==

In 1898, a product resembling Masonite ([[hardboard]]) was first made in [[England]] by hot-pressing waste paper.<ref name="Akers, 1966, p. x">Akers, 1966, p. x</ref>

In 1924, Masonite was patented in [[Laurel, Mississippi]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.masonite-europe.com/netbuildpro/process/23/1925.html |title=1925 - Masonite Europe |publisher=Masonite Europe |access-date=2009-09-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805131331/http://www.masonite-europe.com/netbuildpro/process/23/1925.html |archive-date=2009-08-05 }}</ref> by [[William H. Mason]], who was a friend and protégé of [[Thomas Edison]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southbear.com/hometowns/laurel/laurel_history/Masonite.html |title=William H. Mason: The Man Who Went to Lunch |author=SouthBear |date=2002-03-23 |access-date=2012-02-24 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120413201500/https://www.southbear.com/hometowns/laurel/laurel_history/Masonite.html |archivedate=2012-04-13 }}</ref>

In 1929, the company initiated [[mass production]] of its product.{{fact|date=October 2023}}

In the 1930s and 1940s, Masonite was used for applications including [[doors]], [[Roofing material|roofing]], [[wall]]s, [[Desk|desktop]]s, guitars (e.g., [[Danelectro]]), and [[canoes]]. It was sometimes used for house siding. Similar "tempered hardboard" is now a generic product made by many forest product companies.{{fact|date=October 2023}}

In 1972, the Masonite Corporation entered the door business as a supplier of facings.<ref>{{cite web |title=The History of Masonite |url=http://www.masonite.com/masonite_history.php |access-date=2011-09-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020213919/http://www.masonite.com/masonite_history.php |archive-date=2011-10-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1982, the Masonite Corporation spun off its timber property. In 1984, [[USG Corporation|USG]] acquired Masonite.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/robert-rasmus-survived-combat-in-germany-and-a-violent-strike-in-mississippi-11545406200 | title=Robert Rasmus Survived Combat in Germany and a Violent Strike in Mississippi | work=Wall Street Journal | date=December 21, 2018 | last1=Hagerty | first1=James R. }}</ref> In 1988, USG sold Masonite to International Paper.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/01/business/company-news-usg-to-get-400-million-for-masonite.html | title=COMPANY NEWS; USG to Get $400 Million for Masonite | work=The New York Times | date=October 1988 | last1=Siler | first1=Julia Flynn }}</ref>

In 2001, the Masonite Corporation was purchased by Premdor Corporation, a door maker, from its former parent [[International Paper]]. It no longer supplies generic hardboard.{{fact|date=October 2023}}

== Production ==

Masonite is formed using the Mason method,<ref>{{US patent|src=uspto|1578609|U.S. Patents 1,578,609}} and {{US patent|src=uspto|1586159|1,586,159}}.</ref> in which [[wood]] chips are disintegrated by saturating them with {{convert|100|psi|adj=on}} steam, then increasing the steam or air pressure to {{convert|400|psi}} and suddenly releasing them through an orifice to atmospheric pressure. Forming the fibers into boards on a screen, the boards are then pressed and heated to form the finished product with a smooth burnished finish. (Later a dry process with two burnished surfaces was also used.) The original [[lignin]] in the wood serves to bond the fibers without any added [[adhesive]]. The long fibers give Masonite a high [[bending]] strength, [[tensile strength]], density, and stability. Unlike other composite wood panels, no [[formaldehyde]]-based resins are used to bind the fibers in Masonite.{{fact|date=October 2023}}

== Materials ==

Masonite may contain recycled fiber content (including [[post-consumer waste]]), and is typically itself [[Recyclable waste|recyclable]] and [[Biodegradable waste|biodegradable]], making it an environmentally-sound choice for those seeking an alternative to petroleum-derived substrates.

Masonite has also been made from [[Maize|cornstalk]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Wingfield|first1=Baker|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKm-aa3f_EoC&dq=Pressboard&pg=PP4|title=Production of Pressboard from Cornstalks|last2=Naffziger|first2=T. R.|last3=Whittemore|first3=Edward Richard|last4=Overman|first4=Charles Beatty|last5=Sweeney|first5=Orland Russell|last6=Acree|first6=Solomon Farley|date=1936|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|language=en}}</ref>

== Use ==
[[file:Swedish chess set.jpg|thumb|A chessboard made of Masonite]]

Artists have often used it as a support for painting,<ref>{{cite web|title=Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927-1937|url=http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2008/miro/flashsite/|work=Online exhibition catalogue|publisher=MoMA|access-date=25 April 2012}}</ref><ref>[http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/paintings/louis-valtat-enfant-sur-un-tapis-5074173-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5074173&sid=dd291b13-1ae2-492e-a389-26ba0d85266d Christie's, Louis Valtat, "Child on the Carpet", 1910<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and in artistic media such as [[linocut]] printing. Masonite's smooth surface makes it a suitable material for [[table tennis]] tables and [[skateboarding|skateboard]] ramps.{{fact|date=October 2023}}

Masonite is used by [[moving companies]]. Among other things, they use it to protect the walls of buildings where they work, and lay on floors to enable smooth rolling of dollies loaded with goods.<ref>{{cite web|title=How Movers Prepare and Protect a Home|url=http://www.moversville.com/how-to-move-tips/moving-and-loading/movers-prepare-protect-home|website=moversville.com|date=February 18, 2014 |access-date=24 June 2016}}</ref>

Masonite was used as rear cover in many consumer electronics, from the 1930s up until the early 1980s. It was more heat resistant than contemporary plastic materials which was especially important for vacuum tube TVs and radios which generated high levels of heat in extended use, and also had a lower weight. It also has some electrical insulation properties which were considered particularly useful for safety. It was durable in home electronics, easy to shape and print, various inscriptions regarding to the connections or warnings were easily legible. Later, it was displaced in these applications, as more suitable plastics were developed and new designs evolved, making masonite obsolete in this application. However, some retro style radios developed recently, also have a masonite back cover, though not containing tubes or even built in power supply .

== Deterioration ==

Masonite swells and rots over time when exposed to the elements, and may prematurely deteriorate when it is used as exterior siding. In 1996, International Paper (IP) lost a class action suit brought by homeowners whose Masonite siding had deteriorated. The jury found that IP's Masonite siding was defective.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Jury+finds+International+Paper%27s+Masonite+siding+defective.-a018674180 |title=Jury finds International Paper's Masonite siding defective |publisher=Thefreelibrary.com |date= 1996-09-13 |access-date=2009-09-23}}</ref>

== See also ==

* {{anl|Fiberboard}}
* {{anl|Oriented strand board}}
* ''[[Paintings on Masonite]]'' – Series of paintings by Joan Miró
* {{anl|Particle board}}
* {{anl|Plywood}}

== References ==
{{commons}}

{{-}}
{{reflist}}


{{Wood products}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
[[Category:1924 introductions]]
[[Category:Engineered wood]]
[[Category:English inventions]]
[[Category:Paper products]]