Missouri Farmer Operates Niche Business Making Quality Wood Products for Others | Timberline Magazine

by Diane Calabrese | Jul 21, 2024 | Current Issue, Lumber Drying, Sawmill Features: Hardwood, Uncategorized

MANSFIELD, Missouri – “I take timber from farm to furniture maker,” said Will Kubitschek, founder and owner (with his wife, Cait) of Ozarks Fine Lumber. In the process he interacts with loggers, construction contractors, sawmill owners, hobbyists, and furniture makers.

The interaction allows Will to make connections that fortify his own business as well as to help others with projects. When the Saint Louis Historical Society learned he had a lumber kiln (he built it himself) that was big enough to dry 39-foot rafters, he was asked if he could take on the project. He did.

Ozarks Fine Lumber primarily serves customers in Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois and Oklahoma, but Will gets calls from all over the map. He recently shipped products to Texas and Colorado.

‘I really wish I could find someone who could help me with this project.’ He hears that from a lot of prospective customers who are looking to do a more out of the box project. Will is always willing to come up with a solution to make the project work.

Unique projects intrigue Will, and he has done many. He prefers doing custom, niche work over traditional high volume production.

Ozarks Fine Lumber is situated on part of a 700-acre farm in Mansfield, which is located in southwest Missouri, about 50 miles east of Springfield. The working farm began operation in 1967, and Will grew up on it.

Will has been using chainsaws since he was a boy. He owns several brands but does not have a favorite, “just what works.” Chainsaws are an important tool in his business. He uses them for felling trees and also for cutting slabs with the aid of an Alaskan® Mill from Granberg International. The Alaskan Mill is essentially a frame or jig that attaches to the log and acts as a guide so the chainsaw can make straight, even passes to cut timbers and lumber. More info on Alaskan® Mill at https://www.granberg.com/.

Two projects helped propel Will toward launching his business: a baby crib and a custom red oak floor. When the first of four children was due to be born, Cait found a baby crib that she wanted to buy in a big box store. Will went to look at it but was disappointed to find it was made overseas from particleboard. He set out to make the same crib with real wood and turned to an Amish friend who makes furniture. His friend built the crib with tiger maple, and it will now last for generations.

This black walnut bar top is one example of the slabs that Ozarks Fine Lumber can provide to contractors, woodworkers, and furniture makers.

Will and Cait are also sentimental. “We love family heirlooms,” he said. “She has her great-grandmother’s bedroom furniture that we still use today.”

Will laments the scarcity of skilled carpenters. “There are craftsmen today, but few and far between,” he said.

Ozarks Fine Lumber is ready to serve woodworkers, contractors and furniture makers. Will has an inventory of slabs and dimension lumber in a 5,000-square-foot warehouse. “We cut and store 400 slabs, sets of stair treads, mantles, and have 40 logs that are over 30 inches in diameter,” he said.

Will consulted on and dried about 20,000 board feet of cedar lumber for a customer who built this unique custom home.

Will has enjoyed collaborations with and learning from a couple of mentors. One is Dick Lorenz, who now lives in Colorado. Dick started logging with mules and draft horses in Wyoming in the 1960s. “He’s run sawmills,” said Will. “He’s done timber framing.”

He told Dick he wanted to install a hardwood floor in the house Will was building. Dick inspired Will to cut red oak trees from his own farm and turn them into hardwood flooring. He even helped Will fell some of the big red oaks. The floor would cover 1,700-square feet, and he wanted a rustic look to the lumber. He ended up cutting 1-inch thick, 6-inch-wide red oak boards.

Will was inspired to create a wood floor that would have been in a farmhouse 100 years ago, but he decided to use modern methods to simulate the old time building methods. Instead of using nails like they would have back in the day, he countersunk holes to screw down the boards, then filled the holes with red oak plugs. It took him six weeks to install the floor. It was a labor of love! Will hopes his great-grandchildren will be walking on this floor.

Ozarks Fine Lumber milled these timber frame components. In addition to the Alaskan Mill, the company has a Wood-Mizer LT70 portable band sawmill.

Will was given his Alaskan® Mill from another mentor, David Kilgor, who got him started milling huge logs. “David is 82 years old and still drives a logging truck with a picker four days a week,” he said. David taught him how to use the Alaskan Mill.

“The concept of the Alaskan Mill is straightforward,” said Will, “but there is a steep learning curve. Learning from a mentor makes all the difference. It’s hard work.” When he talked to TimberLine, he was planning on using it to cut a big maple log into slabs for a kitchen.

Granberg International is based in Pittsburg, Calf., and has been making chainsaw mills and accessories since 1954. The handing down of the mill from David to Will fits with the legacy that Granberg envisions for its products.

Will’s company milled these custom stair treads for a customer. Finished white oak stair treads were stained to emulate black walnut.

Will also has a band sawmill for cutting lumber and timbers, a Wood-Mizer LT70. Indiana-based Wood-Mizer has been making portable and industrial sawmill equipment since 1982. It also offers resaws, edgers, planers/moulders, and more.

Carrying a project through from concept to reality suits Will. So well in fact that he has declined “lots of opportunities” to be a production mill or turn wholesale, he said. “That’s not fun to me.”

Client friend is shown with a big piece of beautiful spalted sycamore. Ozarks Fine Lumber can supply black walnut, cherry, red and white oak, cedar, pine, and other species.

Will built his dry kiln out of necessity. He had to endure long wait times in order to have his wood dried elsewhere. He designed and built the first kiln for personal use, keeping in mind that this might turn into a business. Will has since built a second kiln and created a business drying lumber to sell and custom drying for customers. Ozarks Fine Lumber puts a high priority on drying lumber properly to achieve good quality. For example, it can take eight weeks to dry white oak material that will be used for a fireplace mantle.

Will built the kiln from scratch using surplus components but with the foresight to use those that still had a long life. “I wanted to use the kiln in 30 to 40 years,” he said. “I was really cognizant of how it was designed.” Lumber is loaded onto carts that travel on railroad tracks; a forklift moves the carts in and out of the kiln with the aid of a block-and-tackle.

The kiln is heated with electricity. “We built it so energy-efficient we can heat it with electricity,” said Will. He has a wood-fired boiler, but electric rates in Southwest Missouri are low enough to make heating with electricity economical.

Will keeps getting interesting requests, and he enjoys doing those kinds of custom projects. Over the course of one year, he consulted on and dried about 20,000 board feet of cedar lumber for a customer who was building a unique custom home.

Sustainable forest practices are as important to Will as any essential part of his business. Selective cutting is a must to get the best logs and ensure the best regrowth, he said.

“I’m looking for quality,” explained Will. Whether the wood will be used to make a baby crib or a rustic red oak floor, he wants to produce a top quality product. And that begins with a quality-controlled process.

That kind of commitment to quality includes knowing when to fell certain trees and how to handle them afterward. “We harvest black walnut between November and March because the sap is down,” said Will. “We cut really, really, big, 56-inch diameter sycamore and let the logs sit for three to four years.”

Will Kubitschek with his son and spalted sycamore slab.

“I’m always out searching for something special,” said Will. “So much in our business is custom.” He is “always on the hunt” for something different. “We cut a huge tulip poplar log, 39 inches in diameter. The tree is rare out here.” The first slab he cut from it revealed about 10 different shades of color. One slab was so pretty that a customer made it into a wall hanging instead of using it for a table.

From milling timbers or lumber for timber homes to wood for mantles, tables and stair treads, Ozarks Fine Lumber supplies woodworkers and contractors with what they need – the species and quality. Will’s company offers black walnut, cherry, red oak, white oak, cedar, pine and more.

He enjoys every aspect of his work. “I find joy in everything,” he said.

“Something that’s unique and different” is what captures Will’s interest. He hopes that one or more of his and Cait’s children will see it the same way and carry Ozarks Fine Lumber into the future as a supplier of quality wood products for craftsmen.