a product made from wood elements that have been glued together to make a different, more useful, or more economical product than solid sawn wood —see hollow-core construction; kinds of engineered wood composites include the following:

—finger joint a joint made by connecting short pieces of wood by machining and gluing fingerlike joints at the ends of each piece —note the process can produce boards of any length

—flakeboard —see particle board

—glulam glue-laminated timber consisting of layers of lumber glued together to form larger, longer, and stronger structural elements than can be obtained with solid sawn lumber —note glulam is commonly used for beams or arches

—hardboard a medium- to high-density panel made from wood fibers that are heated and compressed and in which lignin is one of the materials used to bond fibers together —synonym Masonite™ —note the fibers are obtained by defibrating wood chips by the "explosion" caused by the sudden release of the high steam pressure to which they have been subjected

—insulation board a low-density panel similar in manufacture to hardboard except that hot-pressing is not used and ligneous bonding of fibers is not achieved

—laminated veneer lumber a panel made by gluing layers of dry veneer having the grain direction of all layers oriented in the same direction

—medium-density fiberboard (MDF) a dry-formed panel product manufactured from wood fibers combined with a synthetic resin or other suitable binder and compressed to a density from 31 to 50 lb/ft³ (496 to 800 kg/m³) in a hot press

—oriented-strand board (OSB) a panel made by gluing, heating, and compressing three to five layers of thin flakes or strands of wood that are oriented at right angles to each other, the center layer of which may have strands or flakes oriented randomly —note 1. this arrangement increases panel stiffness and strength note 2. oriented-strand board is used structurally

—particle board a panel made from sliced or flaked chips and sometimes sawdust that is glued, heated, and compressed —synonym flakeboard —note particle board is used nonstructurally, mainly for sheathing

—plywood a panel made by gluing layers of veneer together such that the grain of alternate veneers is perpendicular —note plywood is composed typically of three, four, or five veneers (plies) —see peelerThis definition last updated 10/25/2008