Simply put, particle board is a waste-wood product made by heat pressing wood chips, sawmill shavings, or even sawdust and resin together. To make the end product water resistant, fireproof, and/or insect-proof chemicals are used including wax, dyes, wetting agents, and release agents. After the resin, chemicals, and wood scraps have been mixed together, the liquid mixture is made into a sheet. The weight of the wood chips is evenly distributed to make sure the finished board is not top heavy. Compression is applied to the particle board sheet multiple times to create the tightest possible bond between the resin and the wood bits. A popular type of particle board that you may see is oriented strand board (OSB). This wood composite is very important to home and commercial engineers for structural purposes. Oriented strand board is easily identifiable by its manufacturing process that layers strands of wood in specific orientations. Most home and commercial builders use OSB particle board for floor and wall bases.