Franklyn Torres Santos watches up to two hours of YouTube videos every day. But unlike most of us, who spiral down an endless path of watching Canadian millennials reviewing cars, old men receiving chiropractic adjustments or babies doing just about anything, Santos is studying.
The Dominican Republic native creates intricately designed wood cutting boards. By day he’s organizing lives by building shelving units from California Closets, and in his spare time he’s learning from instructional YouTube videos, working in the woodshop at Arlington’s Thomas Jefferson Middle School and selling his wares at the Four Mile Run Farmers & Artisans Market.
Many of the cutting boards look like a game of Tetris played by a perfectionist: blocks of walnut, cherry, maple and oak in repeating, symmetrical patterns. Santos, 36, specializes in end grain boards—a multi-step process of cutting, gluing and recutting strips of wood to build a durable surface showcasing the tree’s growing circles. End grain boards, while aesthetically interesting, also better absorb wear and tear from knives. His larger collection includes serving bowls, trays and slabs adorned with beer bottle openers using locally harvested wood. By the way, the author watched no less than two hours of YouTube in the making of this article. // franklynwoodcraft.com
