Blueprints become reality as the Marine Corps Community Services Hobby Shop, located on Mainside here, helps base residents build everything from bookshelves to salt-and-pepper shakers.

The woodshop will help anyone build any piece of furniture they want, said Jeffry J. Hill, woodworking instructor, MCCS Hobby Shop, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. If they find a picture of furniture they want in a magazine or online, all they have to do is bring it in and the shop personnel will help them build it.

“Our goal is to provide dynamic recreational programming to service members and their families,” said Angela M. Frasier, manager, MCCS Hobby Shop, MCB Camp Pendleton. “We host classes here at the hobby shop to draw more attention to the alternative activities available to base residents.”

The woodworking course is just one of several programs offered by the hobby shop. This specific course helps participants learn how to work with the lathe, designing spindles that could decorate any staircase banister or dining room chair.

“Working with wood is very relaxing, and at the same time gets residents involved,” said Hill, who has more than 30 years of woodworking experience, and has turned woodworking projects into displays in local galleries throughout southern California. “You’re not sitting around at home playing video games. Here, you’re sanding, lifting, sawing and moving around, all of which is a plus,” he added.

About two years ago, attendance at installation hobby shops began to drop, said Frasier. The staff at Pendleton’s hobby shop started thinking outside the box a little bit and implemented several base resident recommendations.

The shop is now more than arts and crafts and woodworking. “Now, dependent participation numbers are the highest they have ever been, and we want to continue the trend,” she added.

Free guitar lessons are another of the many examples of the updated course and class curriculum. Current programs range from making candy to laser engraving, and are continually being renovated.

“The most important thing we need to get out there is that we are always listening and looking for new ideas,” said Frasier. “We are not the old hobby shop that used to be ceramics and woodworking.”

For additional information, or to submit your own ideas, call (760) 725-4880 or log onto to Pendleton’s MCCS Web site at www.mccscp.com.