This project is continued from Part 1.
Stopper Knots for the Tree Swing Seat
Measure a 10 feet length of rope and push each end through the top holes in the seat end. Tie an Ashley’s Stopper Knot in each end of the rope as shown here:
Ashleys Stopper Knots on Seat Bottom
With another 10 foot length of rope, do the same for the opposite end of the seat. Take care to adjust the position of the 2nd stopper knot to ensure the seat is level. Leave a short pigtail in the knots as shown for extra security.
Tree Swing Final Assembly
Install a 2-7/8in by 5/16in stainless steel chain link (also called a quick link) on each of the seat rope loops. This item is available at Home Depot for about $6. This product has a working load of 3,000 lbs – more than strong enough for this project. Do not use aluminum or cheap look alikes as commonly seen on school backpacks – those will break and get you hurt.
Stainless Steel Chain Link
The red arrows point to the chain links in this photo:
Chain Links Installed
Hanging the Tree Swing Seat
Adjust the slack so the swing seat is about 24 inches above the ground, and tie the rope hanging from the tree limb to the chain link with a Buntline Hitch. Here’s a closeup of the chain link and knot:
Buntline Hitch
Before tying off the Buntline knot at the opposite end, place the carpenter’s level on the swing seat and adjust the final knot position so both ends of the seat are even.
The chain link will bite into the hollow core braided rope (red arrow) as shown in the next photo making a flat spot in the rope. This is essential for stability such that the seat doesn’t spill over. Tipping has never had a problem on my swing.
If seat tipping becomes a problem, try looping the rope once around the chain link to increase friction.
Chain Link and Braided Rope
Construction Tips:
- Melt the synthetic rope ends with a butane lighter to seal the braids so it doesn’t unravel.
- Check the tree limb every season to see that’s it’s healthy, strong and the rope is in good shape.
Update
These next photos were taken 3 years later to clarify how the swing is setup in response to several reader questions. The ropes are looped over an uneven branch, the two points maybe 14 or 18 inches difference in height. The ropes are very long about 15 feet from the swing seat to the branch. The swing moves straight because the difference between the two attachment points to the tree branch is small relative to the total length of the ropes.
Rope Tree Swing and Tree Branch
Close up view from above:
Rope Tree Swing
What If You Don’t Have a Tree?
A reader asked me:
Hello Bob, I have wanted a tree swing in my back yard for EVER. Problem is, I don’t have a big tree. Darn it. I thought a great tree replacement would be a light pole that are used for traffic lights. I have tried to get information about the light poles and have found dead ends everywhere. I live in Minnesota. I think the light poles are aluminum? I think they could be very strong if they were secured to the ground with footings and decorative pillar looking bases. What do you think? am I nuttier than normal? Could you help me accomplish a dream so I don’t have to wait to grow a tree?
Thanks much,
Julie Schnell
Rope Swing Support Frame Design
I doubt the arm of a lamp post would be strong and durable enough to support a rope swing, but Julie’s thinking is in the right direction. If you don’t have a suitable tree to hang the swing from a branch, the following scale diagram for a rope swing supported by wood posts will work:
Rope Swing Support Frame Diagram
The key elements are:
- 6in by 6in by 12 feet pressure treated wood posts. 6×6 posts are very strong.
- Round off the corners of the posts to remove sharp edges that could cause injury. - A heavy galvanized Schedule 80 (.276″ thick) steel pipe set in the center of the posts to support the swing. The scale drawing shows 7’10″ long, but you leave it at 8′ in length for simplicity.
- The pipe wall thickness is extremely important for strength! - The galvanized support pipe is fixed in place by two 3/8″ diameter bolts (retaining pins) in each end.
- Build the swing seat and tie the knots in the normal way as shown in this project.
The swing support frame can be built for about $250 in materials:
- ~$66.00 for two 6x6x12 pressure treated #2 Southern Yellow Pine posts @ $33 each.
- ~$125.00 estimate for an 8 foot long by 2.5″ diameter Schedule 80 (~1/4″ thick pipe wall) galvanized pipe.
- ~50.00 for ten 50lb bags of Quikrete® Fast Setting Concrete Mix at $5/bag each.
- Couple of dollars for 3.5″ x 3/8 dia. bolts, lock washers and nuts.
Have fun!
Bob Jackson
Copyright © 2012 HandymanHowTo.com Reproduction strictly prohibited.
I’m trying to build a tree swing for my daughter. I tried to make it simple as possible, but I can’t make the swing to go straight. As the tree branch is not totally horizontal, when it swings high, it starts to tilt and spin. I saw looking at your pictures that your branch is not 100% horizontal too. How did you solve the tilt/spin problem?
BTW, I did not use any chain, just ropes and wood. Maybe the chain does the trick?
How far apart are the ropes on the tree branch? The ropes should be parallel and tied at the branch no wider than the seat – this is more important with steep branches and significant differences in rope lengths. This will minimize the differences in the “arc length” on an uneven branch for a straight swing. Also check the seat is level so the rider’s weight is centered.
Chain tends to be more stiff than rope, is rough on the tree branch and pinches children’s hands.
Let us know how it turns out.
Bob
Bob,
I think the way you have your links (red arrows) at different heights changes the fulcrum point and allows your swing to swing straight. This may be why others are having problems with swinging straight. can you explain how you adjusted for the different levels of each link, ie. does the higher link closest to the trunk reflect the lower point where you tied at the branch.
I added two new pictures to the end of Part 2 which explains why difference in the height of the rope attachments to the tree branch relative to the overall length of the ropes doesn’t interfere with swinging straight. A more technical explanation is the difference in the arc length of each rope is small enough not to be noticed as the swing moves back and forth.
The difference in height between the chain link attachments (red arrows in the photo) was an artifact of tying the Ashley Stopper Knots for the seat bottom – had I been more meticulous the seat ropes would’ve been exactly the same height above the seat where it meets the chain link. As it were, I adjusted the buntline knot to level the seat at the chain link:
“Before tying off the Buntline knot at the opposite end, place the carpenter’s level on the swing seat and adjust the final knot position so both ends of the seat are even.”
The total arc length of each rope from the tree branch to the swing seat is what really matters; that and keeping the two ropes reasonably parallel (i.e. not spaced too far apart) where it loops over the tree branch.
Thanks for reading!
This looks great. Very easy to follow directions for tying the knots. I’m planning on trying this out on a big ‘ole shagbark hickory that we have. There’s an excellent limb I’ve been eyeing for a swing for several years now. I was planning on putting two eye-bolts through the limb and attaching the ropes to the eyes. Could I just use the buntline hitch knot to tie the ropes to the eye-bolts just below the limb? Thanks.
Why risk damaging the limb with eye-bolts? Too small an eye-bolt could pull loose and a large eye-bolt would require drilling a pilot hole to avoid splitting the limb. Moreover, large eye-bolts could weaken or kill the limb over time as the working loads are concentrated on the shank of the bolt. Compare this to a rope tied around the limb to distribute the load with minimal stress.
If you can reach the limb consider a traditional Swing Hitch knot. The Swing Hitch is very secure and won’t work loose as the rope moves with the swing. You will have to loosen and retie the Swing Hitch each year to avoid strangling the limb as the tree grows. I used the Running Bowline because I couldn’t reach the limb and it automatically expands as the limb grows.
Thanks for asking.
Well, I was thinking that the friction of the ropes on the bark of the limb would do greater damage than the eye-bolts (all the way through, secured with a washer and 2 nuts on top) – especially on this tree (a shag-bark hickory). Surfing around, I see that there are really 2 schools of thought on this – summed up nicely at http://www.treetopbuilders.net, quoted below. They agree with you by the way.
“There are 2 schools of thought regarding the best way to attach rope swings to tree branches. We have asked many arborists about this. Some of them believe it is best to put an eye bolt or through-bolt (somewhere between 1/2″ and 3/4″ diameter) through the tree branch vertically. This leaves an eyelet at the bottom to tie rope swings to. The advantage is that there is no chance of a rope or chain girdling or rubbing a branch during use. The disadvantage is that drilling holes in trees damages them. Other arborists think it is better to tie a slip knot (our choice is the running bowline) around a branch that loosens when load is removed, allowing the tree to continue growing. The advantage is that it is easier to install and doesn’t initially put any holes in the branch. The disadvantage is that some people believe that the rope contacting the branch could do greater damage over time than the eyebolt. The jury is still out…”
Good info! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Bob,
thanks for your great instructions on the tree swing; I am hoping to get the OK from my husband to proceed with this project for our daughter. Our tree is a maple, however. The branch in auestion is appx 8-10′ in diam. and is alive. About 15′ up for one (side of the) rope and maybe 18-19′ for the other. Do you forsee any probs here?
thanks much,
~Laura
Try to keep the ropes as parallel (like railroad tracks) as possible due to the height difference on the tree limb attachment points so the swing will swing straight. With ~15 to 19 feet of rope, I don’t think you’ll have any problem. – Thanks, Bob
Hi Bob
Excellent instructions – I am going to use them to build a tree swing. (1) What is the reason for using the steel chain link to connect the tree rope and seat rope, rather than directly knotting together the seat rope and the tree rope? Is there some advantage to the chain link? 2) Is it OK to use shorter ropes for each of the two seat ropes – say 4 feet each rather than 10 feet each?
Thanks!
1) The chain link allows for easier maintenance and leveling of the seat. An appropriate knot could be used here instead.
2) You can use shorter seat ropes – remember the 10 foot lineal feet of rope becomes 5 feet when looped over the chain link. I wouldn’t make it very short – say 4 feet or less – because the steep triangle formed by the seat rope over the chain link provides stability such that the seat doesn’t tip over and spill the little ones on the ground. Here’s another thing for the big kids (like me): The triangle formed by longer seat ropes as I’ve shown make a nice back rest when sitting sideways in the swing while perusing my iPad (or reading a book).
Many thanks. I will give the book option a try (while sitting sideways) when the grandkids are not swinging.