Materials
Perforated hardboard and similar systems are made of a variety of materials, each of which has different characteristics that affect the range of possible uses.
Standard perforated hardboard is made of wood fibers, usually with the addition of resin, and tempered by coating with a thin layer of linseed oil and baking at a high temperature to polymerize the oil. This provides more water and impact resistance, hardness, rigidity and tensile strength. Hardboard will bend and warp with age and in the presence of moisture, and will sag under heavy weight (the exact weight is based on the dimensions and quality of the hardboard) unless secured to even weight distribution among several mounting points.
Perforated wood is more labor intensive to manufacture and will warp and splinter under heavy loads, but is sometimes selected for aesthetic reasons. An inexpensive wood such as pine is often used, and it may be chemically treated for strength and fire retardant characteristics or turned into plywood first. Perforated wood may be mounted as a thin strip instead of the more square shape of perforated hardboard.
Metal pegboard systems are usually made out of steel. Metal pegboards are usually mounted in strips, as it would be comparatively costly, cumbersome and inefficient to sell in larger sheets. Sufficiently thick metal pegboards will not sag between mounting points. Instead, the system's mounting on surfaces such as wood beams or sheetrock will usually fail under a heavy weight before the metal pegboard does. Manufacturers advise customers to hang tools and other gear based on the estimated strength of the mounting points. High quality metal pegboard systems use extruded holes, while other systems have the holes drilled after casting.
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