Learning from 20 Years of Experience with Muskoka Sawmill

One of the best things about the Urban Wood Industry is that it seems to attract some of the most friendly and innovative people in the world. Recently we had the privilege of talking with Muskoka Sawmill owner Steve Titus and his partner Cathy Campbell about the incredible network and industry they have created north of the Greater Toronto Area in Muskoka.

Steve is a retired VIA rail locomotive Engineer, but at this point, he now has over 20 years of experience in the wood industry, and his passion for his craft can't be overstated. Cathy also owns her own business and helps saw, organize, and do the books for Muskoka Sawmill.

The Investments of a Craft Sawmill

There is a certain amount of intangible value in this business, and that is the kind of value that woodworkers like Steve and Kathy offer to their clients. When we talk about investments, we tend to focus on equipment and time, but very rarely do we focus on the investment of the heart. Muskoka Sawmill has all three avenues covered, and that is what makes them so incredible.

Steve believes in honesty and transparency in his business, and most importantly, he does what he does because he loves it. This genuine love of opening trees and producing craft lumber for his customers is beautiful. The goal for the Muskoka Sawmill team is to provide customers with the best possible wood that can then be turned into beautiful, high-quality furniture made to last generations.

Equally inspiring is the business that Steve has been able to build and the evolution it has taken over the years. Currently, Muskoka Sawmill has a Forklift, Bobcat, Truck, Trailer, Sawmill, iDRY Vacuum Kiln, and a 2,400 sqft shop. Some of their customers see the stunning quality offered, recognize the business's sizeable investments, and think Steve actually charges too little for what he does. Incredibly enough, there used to be even more equipment!

Creating a Woodworking Network

Muskoka Sawmill gave away their woodworking machines like sanders and planers to focus on the portable sawmill, kiln drying, and craft wood. Now Steve networks with other woodworkers in his area and refers customers to them for these services.

Steve even takes his kiln-dried cookies to his contact with a drum sander and pays for the service. In this way, not only does he support and give back to the local woodworking community, but he also adds value for his customers. When he sells these sanded cookies in his shop, all his customers need to do is take them home and oil them, and they are entirely ready to work with.

The Biggest Game-Changer: The iDRY Kiln

When asked about the most significant investment that has positively impacted the business, Steve would have to say it's the iDRY kiln. He recalls having to tell people years ago when they asked if furniture could be made out of a particular log that it could, but it would take about 3-4 years. So they would tragically just burn the logs.

Finding Kiln space in the area is still quite tricky, and posing 2-3 years of air drying to customers is usually a quick way to lose them. That's all changed with the iDRY kiln.

Steve had some challenges with his kiln as his grid only offers 202-207 volts whereas the iDRY can run up to 240 volts, but he's conquered the obstacle and now has a brilliant two-week system for drying wood and by all accounts, it's working great!

Being able to tell customers he can have them kiln-dried flat gorgeous material in less than six weeks (even with a backlog) is a huge game-changer. Another big win for the business has been his Saturday morning garage sales where people can buy what Steve fondly calls "Hangover Wood," this is wood leftover from different projects or sawmill jobs. As the sawmill owner says, "I'm old, and I keep all the pretty wood." even if it's a small piece, he will keep it, put it in the kiln and give it the opportunity to become something else through his craft wood sales.

Covid-19 hasn't kept this woodpreneur down either. He has started booking appointments for his Saturday morning garage sale to follow distancing protocols. He intends to open for two hours longer through the holiday season to allow anyone who wants to get their hands on some beautiful, craft, kiln-dried wood a chance. Right now, people aren't traveling, of course, but that means more people are at home and doing crafting and woodworking. Steve wants to support that and offer a high-quality, value-added product for anyone interested.

Battling a Kiln Shortage

With the shortage of kilns in Ontario and more people using longer kiln drying methods like dehumidification kilns, the iDRY has given Muskoka Sawmill a significant advantage. Steve recalls a customer he had sawed 1000 board feet of red oak for who called about three years later asking for help finding kiln space. Since Steve had the iDRY kiln at this point, he was able to dry the wood. This also gave a unique opportunity to see how the wood had faired air drying for a couple of years, and Steve was thrilled to see it came back in great shape!

"I thought wow, I did a great job!"

Now, it's a part of the package. Steve does whole projects where he goes in with his equipment and machinery, sometimes even to islands where he gets barged over for three or four days. He builds the bunks, saws the lumber, stacks, stickers and covers it. Then when the customers are ready to build, the wood comes back to him for the kiln drying process and gets forwarded on to the furniture maker or wherever it's destination is. He offers his customers a sizeable discount on kiln drying if he was the one to mill the wood originally and further strengthens that customer relationship.

Muskoka Sawmill has a tow-truck company partnership as well that will transport logs to the yard for small jobs that don't require an on-site project. At this point, 20 years of experience and a great understanding of his kiln drying cycle means that Steve can give pretty darn accurate quotes too.

We asked Steve what he would do differently if he could start his business from scratch all over again. He said he would have stayed in the GTA and gotten a kiln much sooner, ideally from the very beginning. In hindsight, though, he's happy he waited for the vacuum kiln because of the speed. With the dehumidification kilns and heat kilns, the time trade-off just doesn't work as well

Trees are Treasures

The final question we had for this seasoned woodpreneur was, what do you want people to know about you? What it came down to was the love of the industry.

Kathy and Steve agree that the trees' stories, repurposing them, and creating something beautiful and built to last is what drives the business. Muskoka Sawmill doesn't have a single piece of wood that comes from the forest.

Everything that they work with is Urban Wood or Urban Salvage, which is a huge source of pride. Steve loves working with craft lumber, he hates waste and believes in the recycling and repurposing of urban trees because, ultimately, trees are treasures.

"Trees are treasures. We can come in and take that tree that you want to cut down and turn it into something incredible!"

-Stephen Titus