- #PLAYGROUND ASSEMBLY AUTODESK INVENTOR TUTORIAL HOW TO#
- #PLAYGROUND ASSEMBLY AUTODESK INVENTOR TUTORIAL LICENSE#
Just bend the U-bolts in the center to make a sharp "V" shape so the seat doesn't slip and dump the rider.Ĭaution: I like the wood seats, but with kids around you have to be very careful with them. If you want to go traditional, you can cut a seat out of a 2 by 6 or 2 by 8, bolt U-bolts into the ends and hang it from chains with "S" hooks. If you want the heavy rubber belted industrial strength swing seats, you can order those on-line from a playground supply company and they do get pricey.
You can get the cheap ones at Wal-Mart for not very much and just hang them when you've finished building your swing - easy peasy. The swing chains and seats can be purchased complete. You can do that with a paddle bit to avoid people catching themselves on the bolt heads, but for this swing, the bolt heads are out of reach so unless you want to do it for aesthetic purposes, it really isn't necessary.
#PLAYGROUND ASSEMBLY AUTODESK INVENTOR TUTORIAL LICENSE#
My license rep was skeptical that I could pass safety inspection with a homemade wooden swing, but I did. I recessed all the bolt heads for added safety. That makes it more expensive, but also longer lasting and sturdier. When I built this thing, I over-engineered the heck out of it because it was going up on a day care center playground. Anyway, here's the list -Ģ treated timbers, 6 by 6 inches by 12 feetĢ treated boards, 2 by 8 by 16 feet You can useĤ pieces of treated timber, 6 by 6 inches by 8 inch or two three foot long six by sixesĤ Screw-on half inch threaded eyes with half inch carriage bolts, 10 inches long I had to sand the splinters away and seal with a heavy clearcoat because it was on a children's playground, but it looked good and still saved me money. I got them cheap and they gave us a rustic look. I used some long scrap timbers I found from a demolition project on an old building. P.S.: I forgot to include a materials list. This bad boy will look nice and last nearly forever, but the materials can add up. They come complete with chains and hooks and can be hung right out of the package. You can buy swing seats with chains at big box stores, discount houses and home improvement stores. Hang the swing assemblies on the eye bolts. (I'll describe how that's played sometime in a later post, in case you missed it growing up). Make it a little wider and give yourself about five feet of clearance between the swing and the posts and you can play a nifty game with the kids called "Cut the Butter".
#PLAYGROUND ASSEMBLY AUTODESK INVENTOR TUTORIAL HOW TO#
That said, here's how to make a nice two seater swing. I believe this leads to children being less careful about what they walk in front of, but I do understand the safety people's concerns. Sadly, insurers these days require us to use those rubber, butt-hugging flexi-seats on the grounds that they won't knock children unconscious who walk in front of them. The swing's seats were solid wooden two by sixes, which, though capable of giving you a broken nose or concussion, were really easy to jump out of.
I was light and the grass in front of the swing was thick and deep, so I managed not to break anything. Therefore if I parted company with the swing halfway to the apex of the swing's arc, I could add significant distance to my jump. I had discovered, just as military scientist and engineer, Niccolo Tartaglia, had during the Rennaisance, that the optimum angle of initial takeoff was 45 degrees. I was already developing theories about trajectory and experimenting with an early release strategy that propelled my skinny self out to distances that outstripped my opponents by five to ten feet. I was small then and fearless and could outdistance anybody in my classroom, even the older kids. When I was in elementary school and weighed not much more than a mid-sized cannonball, I took to launching myself for distance from the formidable steel and wood swingset on the Keene Public School playground.
I love swings despite my checkered history with them.