Question from Melissa
Hi Debra,
I have been searching for a safe easel for my 3 and 5 year old daughters, a difficult task as most children’s easels seem to be “wooden.” I found the Beka easel, which was advertised as solid hardwood made in the USA. When the new easel arrived, I was surprised to see that the chalkboard surface (i.e., one side of the easel), the bottom of the wood paint trays and center portion of the easel appeared to be made of something other than solid wood.
I called Beka and was told that these parts are made of a fiberboard which is a tempered hardboard made in the USA (meaning only the frame of the easel is sold wood). The person I spoke with was very helpful but could not give me any more information about the composition of the non-wood parts. Should I be concerned about off-gassing/formalehyde with these parts or do you think they are safe? If necessary, I can pay $40 to replace one of the parts with a metal board and apply something to seal the other parts – but I certainly don’t want to do all of this if it’s not necessary.
Thank you very much,
Melissa
Debra’s Answer
Tempered hardboard is an engineered wood product, more commonly called Masonite™. It’s been around since the 1920’s and is not toxic.
Unlike the more modern fiberboards that are held together with toxic resins, Masonite™ is made by coating wood fibers with linseed oil and pressing them together at high temperatures.
Some people who are individually sensitive to wood or linseed oil may react to it, but it contains no toxic ingredients.
No off-gassing of formaldehyde here.
Melissa, Can you tell me what the other side of the easel is made of? I just looked up the product, and it appears that we have the choice of markerboard and chalkboard (one on either side, or two of the same). Did you get the markerboard surface? If so, what is it made of? I’m glad you brought this up. It will save me alot of time and effort in finding one for my child! 🙂 Did you order directly from the company?