Tachyon Swings

[NickfromWI]

Blinky, looking closer at those pics, a little alarm is going off with having the rope tied directly to the wood. Did you round the edges over or anything like that? I would expect to see some wear at that point, even if the edges were rounded over well.

It might be worth updating the setup...maybe with a throughbolt or perhaps a piece of cable through the wood, connected to the rope below via a carabiner?

Just thinking out loud here...

love
nick

 

[Blinky]

The plan is to inspect and adjust them in a year and then bi-annually. The bolt holes are chamfered on both sides. The rope is so long there no movement there anyway.

 

[Wagnaw]

I love rope swings

 

[Jamin Mayer]

I haven't done a swing like that before. Nice job!

I have set up simple swings though. I basically tie a running bowline to the trunk and re-direct through a suitable lateral branch. The general public wouldn't even think of a re-direct to distribute load.

It bothers me when I see H.O.'s installing a rope swing on questionable limbs.

My attachment shows how simple my swings are.

 

[NickfromWI]

Jamin, you could also switch the running bowline to a HUGE bowline, so the tree always has room to grow. You could be even more tree friendly by running the bowline through a piece of 2" webbing to minimize even the minute (VERY minute) rope/tree rubbing.

Cool, simple idea, though!

love
nick

 

[Frans]

I wonder if 'Trex' would make a good seat for a swing. Seems like it would flex (which would be good) and not rot...

 

[rumination]

Trex, does actually rot because it has sawdust impregnated in it. I would use the fully recycled plastic lumber instead.

 

[THillMaine]

how about a few half hitches backing up that clove hitch in the first pic...

 

[Blinky]

how about a few half hitches backing up that clove hitch in the first pic...

Not sure I follow...

The very first pic was my first idea and it was a bad one; it's not a clove though (around the branch), it's a loop. I changed it the next day to a simple bowline.

The cloves on the round rigs don't need a backup, they're hitched to small diameter steel, they won't be moving anywhere as long as the load is balance between both legs.

Was that what you meant?

 

[will]

I thought a clove hitch was for mid line not terminal attachment?

 

[Blinky]

You can use it either way. Hitching to diameters larger than the rope should be backed up with half hitches when it's on a terminal end. I've seen it used rigging big wood but I stick to the running bowline.

 

[Frans]

Hitching to diameters larger than the rope should be backed up with half hitches when it's on a terminal end.

When do you rope down branches which are less than the diameter of your rope?

 

[Blinky]

Hey man, I'm a pruning guy, I only cut little watersprouts... and hook up ridiculously expensive rope swings.

 

[will]

Nice work if you can get it!

 

[Ace76]

Not the swing, the spot above where the ropes are tied.

Wider.

Sorry to bring up an old thread. Why should it be wider, and exactly how wide is best? I am fixing to make a swing in my back yard, and I want to do it right the first time. I will be using 10mm PMI static rope and Eye bolts.

 

[Old Monkey]

I bet that a running bowline would still create an indent on a limb or trunk.

 

[NickfromWI]

Sorry to bring up an old thread. Why should it be wider, and exactly how wide is best? I am fixing to make a swing in my back yard, and I want to do it right the first time. I will be using 10mm PMI static rope and Eye bolts.

I think the two ropes should hang down plumb.

love
nick

 

[Blinky]

For short lengths the ropes can be plumb but if you make the overhead attachments wider, even if it's just a wee bit wider, it stabilizes the seat when it's swinging. Consider going the other way. If you made it narrower the seat would twist easily and generally suck for swinging high.

Definitely wider at the top, but it doesn't have to be much.

 

[Ace76]

Thanks!!!!

 

[Ace76]

I'm happy using j-lags for swings because the loads on the anchor are sooooo low compared to what the j-lag can hold. I prefer the j-lags because it is a little less damage to the tree (only drilling a 3" deep hole rather than a through-hole.

love
nick

Hey Nick, I am thinking about using the lags instead of bolts. I cant seem to find any bolts long enough to go through the branch. What length & diameter do you reccomend? I was thinking along the lines of 6" long and 3/8 or 1/2. I want to be sure it is strong enough for a 230 lb person to swing on it.

 

[NickfromWI]

I've installed swings with the 1/2" j lags that wesspur sells. I am sure the 3/8 would be plenty strong...but i stepped it up on size since it only increased the price by $2.00 for 4 swings.

Think about what forces steel cable connected to trees puts on those lags. 230 pounds bouncing and swinging below is nothing.

love
nick