Castle on the hillTake one seemingly ordinary piece of wood and flick it open to discover a stunning castle. Lots of fun as a toy, for imaginative storytelling, and beautiful to display. Hand-crafted from a single piece of timber, we use salvaged wood of many sorts including (but not limited to) Jacaranda, Poplar, Almond, Olive, Grevillea, Gidgee, and Eucalyptus burls, just to name a few. Each Castle is one of a kind. The original design dates back to the 1700’s!
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TO OPEN THE CASTLE
throw it out with quite a strong shake because that is how they are held up - the farther out the pieces go the harder they jam into place.
TO CLOSE THE CASTLE
ALWAYS turn it upside down first. With a small one you can just smack it closed with your hand but with one a bit larger you can turn the whole thing upside down and clump it gently onto the table. Always slap it closed rather than pressing it closed. Pressing it tends to jam the pieces and makes it more difficult to close whereas slapping loosens them and is easier.
A similar toy was originally made in Switzerland in the late 1700s.
It was cut from a flat piece of wood. It was much smaller and had no base or hillside,
whereas we make ours with more natural free form pieces of wood which give each its own character.
We use a range of timbers, some native Australian timbers but also non-native species. We collect timbers from arborists and also buy unusual pieces of timber like burls, or protected species
Australian scented rosewood and Huon pine from salvage operators.
Each castle has the type of timber written underneath so that you know which wood it is made from.
They are all individually cut out.
Because each piece of wood is such a different shape it is impossible to follow a pattern or a jig so
they are cut by eye on the bandsaw.
TO CLOSE THE CASTLE
Pick it up and turn it upside down. Then smack upwards from underneath with an open hand. Make sure you don’t have your fingers inside the back. If the castle is too large to hold in one hand, hold upside down with both hands and clump onto a table with a gentle tapping motion to loosen the pieces and close the castle. Don’t turn the castle upright again until all the pieces are closed up. If the castle is closed whilst upright, some of the smaller pieces can come out. This is no problem. (If bits do fall out you are able to see the grain and construction which is quite beautiful in some timbers). It looks as if you have broken it but its not hard to put back together. When you close the castle up make sure of the position and angle of the missing piece then turn the castle upside down and slot the pieces back into place. Never force them into place as they could be on a funny angle. If the piece is in the correct position, it will slide easily into place. If it won’t, look carefully. See if you can figure out why it doesn’t fit. Try another position or angle.
Once the pieces are in place again, close the castle and throw it out again to display it. The smaller pieces are thrown into position and will wedge into place. With the harder timbers, you may have to give the towers a slight tug to wedge the pieces firmly into place.
Shop for Castles on the Hill
throw it out with quite a strong shake because that is how they are held up - the farther out the pieces go the harder they jam into place.
TO CLOSE THE CASTLE
ALWAYS turn it upside down first. With a small one you can just smack it closed with your hand but with one a bit larger you can turn the whole thing upside down and clump it gently onto the table. Always slap it closed rather than pressing it closed. Pressing it tends to jam the pieces and makes it more difficult to close whereas slapping loosens them and is easier.
A similar toy was originally made in Switzerland in the late 1700s.
It was cut from a flat piece of wood. It was much smaller and had no base or hillside,
whereas we make ours with more natural free form pieces of wood which give each its own character.
We use a range of timbers, some native Australian timbers but also non-native species. We collect timbers from arborists and also buy unusual pieces of timber like burls, or protected species
Australian scented rosewood and Huon pine from salvage operators.
Each castle has the type of timber written underneath so that you know which wood it is made from.
They are all individually cut out.
Because each piece of wood is such a different shape it is impossible to follow a pattern or a jig so
they are cut by eye on the bandsaw.
TO CLOSE THE CASTLE
Pick it up and turn it upside down. Then smack upwards from underneath with an open hand. Make sure you don’t have your fingers inside the back. If the castle is too large to hold in one hand, hold upside down with both hands and clump onto a table with a gentle tapping motion to loosen the pieces and close the castle. Don’t turn the castle upright again until all the pieces are closed up. If the castle is closed whilst upright, some of the smaller pieces can come out. This is no problem. (If bits do fall out you are able to see the grain and construction which is quite beautiful in some timbers). It looks as if you have broken it but its not hard to put back together. When you close the castle up make sure of the position and angle of the missing piece then turn the castle upside down and slot the pieces back into place. Never force them into place as they could be on a funny angle. If the piece is in the correct position, it will slide easily into place. If it won’t, look carefully. See if you can figure out why it doesn’t fit. Try another position or angle.
Once the pieces are in place again, close the castle and throw it out again to display it. The smaller pieces are thrown into position and will wedge into place. With the harder timbers, you may have to give the towers a slight tug to wedge the pieces firmly into place.
Shop for Castles on the Hill