Some people find woodworking therapeutic because while they do it, they become completely focused on the act of creating and forget about everything else. One such person is Dan Santos of Cape Cod, whom I read an online article about by Jen Ouellette. That may be why he has chosen to make woodworking his full-time vocation. Former civil engineer Dan Santos has found his true passion in woodworking, specifically in 18th-century American furniture.
Dan Santos is currently an airport commissioner in Barnstable, Massachusetts, and a full-time woodworker. Like everyone else, he got his start with easy woodworking. For him, it began in school when he built a bookshelf in a wood shop class in seventh grade. However, he considers himself mostly self-taught, learning from more than a thousand books. He also credits taking courses and asking questions. He turned to full-time woodworking after retiring from a career as a civil engineer.
Santos claims that, unlike his other work, woodworking is 100% positive. He says that he has had to deal with some negativity in his roles as a consultant, engineer, and airport commissioner. But, with woodworking, he is happy and his customers are happy. He adds that he does enjoy his work with the airport commission because he is performing a valuable service to the community. But woodworking is something that he always wanted to do and gives him creative expression.
Most, but not all, of Santos’ projects involve 18th-century American furniture. One of his favorite projects was a Windsor chair he was asked to reproduce by Winterthur Museum in Delaware as part of an educational exhibit. The original chair was a 1790 piece made in Nantucket. Other projects he currently has on hand include a lighthouse clock designed by Simon Willard, a dining table of curly maple, and the figurehead of a ship that needs restoration. He says he would most like to do a Newport-style Secretary, which is a large chest with doors and ornate woodwork.
Woodworking full-time has allowed Santos to focus on what he has always wanted to do. As for many people, it seems to allow him to be in the present moment and forget about real or imagined problems.
