Thursday, June 05, 2008

The perfect tree for a swing


I have been eying this branch since I started working on the shed 3 years ago. It is hard to believe that this will be the 3rd and (hopefully) final season building the shed. I have lots of trees on my 3-acre lot but none with a branch nearly horizontal to the earth. As a portrait photographer I am always looking for interesting backdrops to photograph people on and have been wanting to build a tree swing for this branch for at least 2 years. I used to love to swing high up in the air and back down again. A simple way to relax and enjoy.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I went out and googled Tree swings and found an aol video with a pretty basic tree swing "recipe". As a woman, I am used to cooking up a recipe and kinda get a laugh out of calling my building project plans "recipes". Oh well, it is fun. Perhaps the guys think I am a bimbo, but I am not. I just like to have fun.
Anyway, since I could not locate any redwood in this area, I went to the local lumber yard and found some cedar 2 x 6's (that I paid a premium price for-- $ 4/ln ft. Ouch) However, a plastic tree swing kit would have cost me $50 and I could not say that I created it. So, I am ahead of the game at spending only $35.
Now I have to figure out how to tie the knots that will hold up the swing. That could be a challenge. I did buy super duty rope, that is guaranteed to hold up to 720 lbs. I think that should do it. I would rather be safe than sorry. I will go back out to google for a knot search. Once complete, I will post updated photos.

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