Nine tree species growing in the villages of Bangladesh were studied to determine their
suitability for making hardboard. Hardboards were made on defiberizing the pre-steamed chips
mechanically. Strength and water-resistance properties of the boards were determined. It was
found that none ofthe species could make hardboards good enough to meet the requirements of
Class-1 hardboard of the US Hardboard Association Specifications. Nevertheless, all the species
except neem, produced good, or even better, hardboards compared with sundri used in Khulna
Hardboard Mills.