A Garden Swing

A Garden Swing

What a lovely idea to build a swing for yourself and your friends and hand this from a shady tree in the garden. It will not be difficult to make and will certainly give a great deal of amusement for a long, long time. All you will need is some wood, rope, and a few screws. First of all, make the seat, as this is the most important part of the swing. This should be about I5 in. wide and 9 in. in depth, and made from I in. thick planking. Make the back of the swing on the lines of the illustration, some 9 in. deep and curved slightly as shown. The two sides will be the same in every detail, and should measure 6 in. deep and be rounded at the ends. The two sides are inset a little on the seat so that there is room for the rope.

Plane the wood of the seat very carefully and finish off with sandpaper, so that the wood is quite smooth to the touch with no splinters, etc. Now varnish the seat all over and it will be ready for hanging to the tree. For this purpose you will need a strong rope for each side, measuring about 8 ft. long. Put two ringbolts in the seat, as illustrated, to take the ropes, and use more rings and attach to a good stout tree branch, also illustrated. Make knots and thread the rope through the rings, so that it will be quite secure and hold the weight of any boy, however high he sails up into the air in your new swing.