Rope suggestions for swing

[treesmith]

I'm fixing to put a rope swing up at my folks' house for my little one and my two nieces to swing on. Any recommendations as to brand/type of rope?

I put one up for my two older daughters about 12 years ago, using a piece of rope I brought home from Asplundh. It was well-used when I brought it home, and has been exposed to Mother Nature for 12 years now, and still is holding up well. I swung on it a few weeks ago to try it out. As best I recall, we used Wall brand rope, 1/2", 3-strand. I was wondering if Treemaster would hold up that well, as it's the most comparable rope I know of currently. Any ideas?

 

[woodworkingboy]

I was wondering what diameters 3-strand is available in, and found this site. I hadn't heard of saturated rope before.

http://www.bucrope.com/twisted-rope.html

 

[rangerdanger]

Depends how fancy you want it, I've seen guys make some cool ones outta Tachyon and stainless steel rings, they turn out very shiny lol.

 

[treesmith]

I wasn't thinking fancy, Adrian, just a swing. I'll bore a hole in a treated 2x6 and run the rope through, tie an overhand or figure-8 in it, and be done. I just wondered if anyone else on here had a swing, etc made that had been exposed for years to give an idea of a particular rope's durability. I've got some Arborplex laying around that's probably 20 years old. Don't know that I'd want to use it.

I'd like to see the styles you mentioned though. I might change my mind.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I believe that polyester rope is the type that will hold up best for constant outdoor use, having strong anti UV characteristic. Though nylon rope is somewhat stronger, it is said that had polyester been invented first, nobody would have bothered with nylon. Treemaster being polyester.....

 

[PCTREE]

I would strongly suggest using Wraptor rope if it is 50' or shorter. Ill send you an off cut.....

 

[treesmith]

50' should be sufficient, Paul. Thanks!

I'm going to tie it off in a primary fork up high, then drop it through another fork out on a long lower limb. That way the main load won't be on the limb itself.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I set one up with a R2R FS once for a customer. Kids were still little and growing. That way he could adjust the height as they grew and the tree would suffer less damage.

 

[treesmith]

I'll set it with a running bowline up top so the tree can grow within the loop without the rope growing into the tree.

 

[woodworkingboy]

A great thing to do for kids. They will likely always remember.

 

[SkwerI]

Any type of rope loop around the limb will still eventually girdle the limb regardless of how much slack you leave in it. 99.999% of the time the rope will not be moving and will have a constant pressure on top of the limb, therefore it will girdle rather than move. You're better off installing eye bolts to attach the ropes. Better to make two holes in the bottom of the limb than two ropes over the top of the limb.

I installed a swinging bench almost 20 years ago at my father's house. I did it like you all are describing except I even used some hose as a friction saver to run the rope through. 7 years later the limb had grown around the hose on the top of the limb.

 

[Al Smith]

I had a tire swing hung off a sugar maple limb for years when my children were children .Just a piece of 1/2" 3 strand nylon .I protected the limb with a piece of the tread cut out of an old nylon corded tire . Nylon holds up lust fine .

That same tree by the way is the one where the freakin cat ate me up trying to retrieve it because it was too stupid to climb down .

 

[rangerdanger]

The ones I saw man were all spliced, I believe Chip on here spliced them actually. I just remember it looked pretty awesome when it was done though, the Tachyon colors just popped out.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I was thinking that if I had some tree guard left over from this cable job I have coming up, I might just use it for a swing. They hav a swing set out back. But Seth is getting a tad big for it.

 

[top_notch]

It's amazing how much fun can be had with a simple piece of rope hanging in a tree! If you make it 5/8's or so twisted rope, it will be easy to learn to foot lock on. I try to avoid putting the 2x6 on the bottom because it becomes quite the hazard when swinging around with little ones around, and big folks alike. A bowline with a piece of pvc pipe in the loop makes a great handle. You can also roughen up the pvc with rough sand paper to make it easier to hold on to.

 

[treesmith]

Brian, that's another reason I'll be setting it in a somewhat vertical fork up high, then routing the rope through a fork on a lower limb. I have a cable I hung a pulley in an oak (For hanging deer), using this method, and it hasn't grown into the fork, even after 10 or 12 years.

Jeff, I understand what you're saying about the 2x6, but I don't hang it low. It's up pretty high, with a nice long tail of rope beneath with an overhand knot in the end for the ground personnel to use to swing the rider.

 

[woodworkingboy]

When a kid there was the coolest scary rope swing that swung you out over a steep incline. The rope was attached to a large Sycamore. My friend's brother would drive us up there in the hills in his model A, a pack of cigarettes under his rolled up tee shirt sleeve. Both my friend and his brother are gone now. A favorite memory in Southern California. He had to double clutch, and the car had these neat tiny gauges. Driving through the hills with the windows open was bliss. Sorry...a little nostalgia.

 

[Al Smith]

If you're going to make a swing for a child keep in mind that a plank will knock a kids teeth out .A tire or one of those soft sling seats might be a better option .

 

[woodworkingboy]

If it is a concern, you could tack some thick urethane foam on the edges. Available from an upholstery shop. Maybe cover the whole seat in foam, which would make it very comfortable. Actually, if you wanted to do it right, take the plank to an upholsterer and have them cover it with foam and a waterproof material like vinyl or something. Quickly and cheaply done, I believe.

 

[treesmith]

My youngest is seven, and she's the baby of the family. I'm not that worried about the teeth, as they have handled it enough to watch out for it. I affixed a prussik loop to ours years ago to cinch under the arms of my little ones when they were too young to hold on for long. It's awesome to see the delight in their eyes when swinging 30+' out over a hillside.

The one I'm going to put up at my folks' house will be on somewhat level ground, so it will be more propulsion-dependent.....

 

[PCTREE]

best swings IMO can be made by having a high line between 2 trees and the swing line attached almost midway, not exactly 50% which will give it a more random swing. For under $100 you can have a lot of fun....
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[Al Smith]

I rigged a high line over the pond I had in a former life using 3/8 " messenger wire .Tied off up in a big honey locust on one end and anchored to the draw bar of a D4 Cat on the other .

The kids could climb a scaffold and hang on to a T handle rigged to a snatch block and glid accross about 150 foot of pond .They had a ball .It was only about 12 feet above the water so if they let go it wouldn't hurt them falling in the water

 

[Burnham]

That's a cool one, Paul!

 

[Jack]

Real life tire swing example

FWIW:
What follows is NOT a recommendation (since it breaks a few rules) but an actual tire swing setup that worked successfully for 30 years.

Forty+ years ago, I put up a tire swing for my kids as follows. I cut about 40' from a 600' reel of 1/2" nylon 3-strand rope. I put a long eye splice in one end, then seized and frapped the splice. I 'girthed' the splice around a large Siberian Elm branch 25' high. I then spliced the other end through an old tire and seized and frapped the splice. I made a punch from a piece of steel pipe and punched a 2" hole in the tire to let the rain run out. The tree & limb and the tire swing were still in excellent condition 30 years later when I took it down to move.

I attribute the lack of damage to the tree to the long eye splice. Apparently, the friction of the two strands girthed over the limb forced the rope to flex in the single strand below the eye and not rub the bark. I also assume the girthed eye splice allowed the limb to grow each spring and not be girdled by the rope. I fact when I examined the branch as I removed the rope, there was virtually no damage at all. The tree growth had actually forced the girthed eye splice to progressively open up over the years. The splice (seized & frapped) through the tire frustrated young curious fingers from freeing the tire.

This might have not worked so well with another species of tree or another rope or another person. However, I used the same tire a couple of years ago to make a 'new' tire swing (in a Virginia Pine with 3/4 rope) for my Grandson with the same technique -- so far, so good. Again, this definitely is not a recommendation - just an example of one tire swing installation method that worked out well.

 

[Bodean]

Swing it! Nick helped.

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