DIY One Rope Tree Swing

I have HUGE trees in my yard and I always wanted to have swing hanging off one of the tall limbs!  Well, this year I finally broke down and made one.  I’ll have to say these kind are some of the best swings to swing on.  The longer the rope, the farther these swings will take their riders high into the limbs.  The kids LOVE this swing and will spend hours pushing each other on it, especially to see how high they can go!

…and yes, it’s great for adult kids too!  (It is sooooo relaxing!)

Tutorial:

Supplies:

•  (1) 2 x 10 for a 10-12 inch long seat.  You can also use one 2 x 6 put together or any other combination
• (3) pieces of 2 x 4s or 2 x 3s for seat supports (each piece should be the same length as the width of your swing)
• (1 Box) of 2- 1/2in screws
• (1 inch) diameter rope (5ft longer than the height of the limb that the swing will hang from)
• a large tree limb

Tools:

• Chop saw or skill saw
• One 1 1/4in wood spade bit
• Hand drill
• Sander

Directions:

Tip: Before assembling, I sanded all of my wood pieces first.

For your seat, you can use a 2 x 10 or in this case I used what I had lying around, one 2 x 4 and one 2 x 6.

Using my 2-1/2in screws, I screwed two seat supports on each end and one exactly in the middle of the bottom of the seat.

Now flip the swing right-side-up and drill a hole down the center of the swing.  Make sure the hole is drilled down the exact center of the middle brace that was just screwed in underneath.

Tip: To prevent splintering, put a piece of wood where the drill bit will be coming through the bottom.

Hanging the Swing:

I simply drilled a heavy duty 5 inch eye bolt into a strong limb of the tree.  Then, I tied the rope to a heavy-duty, 500lb capacity carabiner, and clipped it onto the eye bolt.  This works great if you ever need to quickly remove the swing.

Slide the dangling end of the rope through the hole that you drilled into the swing and tie a knot underneath the swing seat.

If you don’t want to drill into the tree:

You can simply tie a slip knot in the rope and then attach it to the tree.

How to tie a slip knot:

Make a ‘looped end’ out of the rope.

Now twist once.

Curve the looped end around to make a circle.

Pull the looped end THROUGH the circle and pull tight to form a knot.

Throw the knotted looped end over a sturdy branch and pull the other end of the rope through the looped end.

Time to go swingin’!

How fun it is!  Now it’s your turn to make one!

Be sure to check out my other Kid Fun Ideas HERE!

DIY One Rope Tree Swing

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