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Remember childhood sensations from the swing? This is not only pleasant, but also useful – monotonous rocking trains the vestibular apparatus, and also calms the nervous system. The second property is very useful in our time. Such a pleasant treatment-relaxation after a busy day. Moreover, any person with “straight” hands can make a swing with their own hands. There are, of course, complex models, but there are much more simple ones.
About designs
Like most outbuildings, swings are most often made of wood. Racks and crossbar – from timber, logs, seats – from planks and even from parts of home furniture.
A little about designs. There are three main types of hanging swings, or as they are also called – boat swings, sofas, benches, etc. The main difference is in the type of support structure: there are A-shaped and U-shaped. You see an example with racks folded into a triangular structure above, and in the photo below an example with a U-shaped rack. This is more of a pergola with a hanging bench and it is built according to the same type, only taking into account swinging loads.
There is a third type – this is already a complex structure that requires certain skills – it is based on articulated joints and they swing from their feet to the floor. We will immediately give both photos and diagrams for those who wish (you can expand it to full screen by clicking on the arrows in the upper right corner of the picture).
How to build a wooden gazebo with your own hands, read here.
We make a swing with our own hands from wood
Most often, they independently make a design in the form of the letter “A”. It is simpler, requires less material consumption. We will analyze the nodes, fasteners in more detail, talk about materials, protection against destruction and stability.
Materials
Immediately about what to make a wooden swing from. The choice of lumber section depends on the planned load. If it is assumed that one adult will sit, the uprights and the upper crossbar are at a minimum – 50 * 70 mm. If a larger number of “seats” is supposed – two or three, then the cross-section of the beam is at least 100 * 100 mm, better – 100 * 150 mm. It has been experimentally established that such a design, when using a beam of 100 * 100, can normally withstand a total load of about 200 kg. If you need more – take a larger section, or put logs))
About what the bench / sofa is made of. A bar 70 * 40 mm will go to the frame, the back height is at least 600 mm, the seat depth is at least 480 mm. You can experiment with the depth of the seat and the angle of the backrest: there are options for a “lying” position. Accordingly, both the length of the sofa and the dimensions of the structure change greatly from this. For fastening use nails 200 or studs at least 10 mm in diameter.
How to position the racks
Scheme with dimensions and a list of the required material in the photo below. To be frank, few people make from such materials as indicated in the specification. More often they put a bar.
There are varieties of this design: with or without a lower frame. If the swing is installed on a hard platform and the fasteners are made rigid, on studs, without the possibility of backlash, then such a design will stand without problems. If in doubt, you can make a screed from a bar along the bottom, nail it with studs to the coating, or drive the staples into the ground.
For those who are afraid of lateral loads – the design in this axis is not the most reliable – we can offer to install racks with a slope. The area will be large, but the stability will be high.
If installation in the ground is intended, parts of the posts that will be buried must be treated with bio-protection. As a cheap option, put it in a vessel with used oil for several hours. Dry, then bury. They bury to a depth of at least 50 cm, pour a little rubble on the bottom, set up racks and concrete. If you are afraid that this is not enough, attach a few strips of metal crosswise at the bottom. The hole will have to be dug larger, but the holding area will be larger.
How to make a pond for a summer residence or near the house, read in this article. You may be interested in reading about pools for summer cottages.
Ways of fastening the crossbar
In all swings of this type – with racks sawn at the top with bars – the problem is the attachment point of the crossbar, to which the bench is then hooked. In the photo above, it is solved reliably, although not entirely aesthetically pleasing. The trouble is that aesthetic methods are difficult to perform. And, if you are not for sale, it’s faster to do something inelegant, but reliable. So, in order to fix the crossbar, an overhead beam is attached below the intersection, pulled to the uprights with studs. A cross member rests on it, which is held from lateral shifts by racks and fasteners – nails and spikes.
Another way to install the crossmember is to mount the side racks in the form of the letter “X”. With this option, the carrier beam fits perfectly. It is additionally fixed with nails, and the racks are pulled together with studs. See the next photo for this.
By the same principle, a do-it-yourself swing is assembled from logs: the side ones are fastened crosswise, and a support log is laid on top. If the timber is sometimes assembled on nails, then in the case of logs, studs are mainly used.
For those who are familiar with carpentry, there are other options: half a tree. Such a project is in the photo gallery below with close-ups of some of the key nodes.
You can read about benches for the garden and the plot here.
Photo gallery of homemade swings on chains
And a few photos of different swings made on the basis of an A-shaped design.
How to build a children’s playhouse in a summer cottage or near the house, read here.
Fastening the swing to the crossbar
The swing mount also requires clarification, that is, it is not obvious to everyone how to hang a bench-sofa on the crossbar. First, the crossbar is drilled from the bottom up through. A bolt is passed through the hole, to which the eye nut is attached. One or two wide washers are placed under the nut head so that it does not squeeze under weight.
It turns out that the eye-nut ring is located at the bottom. You can attach a carabiner to it, throw a rope or cable, etc. Just note that the carabiner should hang normally, freely on the eye-nut ring. And in the carabiner, two links of the chain should fit freely. Therefore, it is advisable to buy everything together in one store: you can try on the entire knot at once.
By the way, in the rigging store you can stumble upon other devices that can be adapted for attaching chains or ropes from the swing seat. For example, such as in the photo below.
They are designed to lift loads from 0,5 tons, so it makes no sense to use them for children, but on a swing for adults – quite.
Such a mount has a significant minus – a creak is heard when swinging. For a while, you can get rid of it by lubricating the knot, but this operation will have to be repeated periodically. The way out is to make a knot on bearings, but you can’t do without welding.
Do-it-yourself metal swing
Their structure is exactly the same. The material is different, and the way it is attached. This is welding. For those who are familiar with welding inverters, it will not be difficult to weld something similar. And for inspiration, a photo report.
Below is a drawing of this swing with dimensions. Some explanation is required. In the figure there is a pipe welded around the perimeter (this plane is shaded). It is buried and therefore not visible in the photo. It was made in order to increase stability: the masses of friends are considerable. For the same reason, metal plates are welded onto the ends of the racks. The installation was complicated, but the swing is tight.
For manufacturing, it took 22 meters of a profile pipe 50 * 50 mm, for a seat 25 * 25 mm – 10 mm, boards 2000 * 120 * 18 – 7 pcs and the rest – fasteners, paint, anti-rust.
There is another way to attach the swing to the crossbar. He is in the photo.
No one can explain it like the author of the work. How to make a swing with your own hands from metal, see the video.
The original form of a swing from a profile pipe – the racks are non-linear, but curved. If it is possible to do this with a tree, then only the master.
A few photo ideas from the authors and owners of similar designs.
You can read about the designs and manufacture of metal barbecues in this article.
Baby swing
For children, you can make the same design, but smaller.
There are several other models for the playground, but you can read about how to make a sandbox here. Here are the first ones – a swing-scale or a balance beam.
Everything is clear, questions may arise only on the attachment point. Below is a drawing with dimensions. To strengthen the upper part, steel plates are fixed inside. To make them swing, a hole is drilled into which the pin is threaded. You can improve the “rolling” by inserting bearings.
You can quickly and easily make a nest swing from a tire (car tire). Bolts with eye nuts are installed in it at four corners, but of a smaller diameter (do not forget about the washers), ropes or chains cling to them, and you can even throw them on the corresponding branch on the tree, even hang them on the horizontal bar.