# Rope swing



## Toddppm (Apr 28, 2008)

I've got a customer that wants me to hang ropes for a swing and was wondering which rope would be best for the $$$? I'll need 150' total.

I think using 3/4" is better for holding on to in the application and looked up a few in the catalogs. I remember studies from FF training about ropes exposed to the sun break down pretty quick and see a few are more UV resistant than others. 

Looks like Stable braid or Super braid are the only ones that fit the bill? 
Any others that may work for less $$$? 

These are good customers and spend alot with us, just trying to save them a couple bucks if possible. 

Maybe 5/8" won't be so much of a diff. and will save them about $40.00?


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## John Paul Sanborn (Apr 28, 2008)

I don't think you need such high tensil rope, a 3 strand should work good.

If you like cover/core type ropes, I called SeaMar.com and they priced 2in1 at .77/ft and Stable Braid at .83/ft in 9/16.

The 2in1 is a nylon product and has more stretch, where Stable Braid is the lower stretch. 

http://seamar.com/rope.html#index

I've used low stretch rope, with web tube friction barrier and static bo'lin, vs. running bo'lin.


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## safeT1st (Apr 28, 2008)

*Just curious*

Just wondering if there could be any liability issues involved with this . You know how it is these days , the kids from down the road get on it , break their limbs and suddenly someone has to be held responsible .


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## pdqdl (Apr 28, 2008)

I should think that any sturdy rope would be fine. Photo-degradation is probably not nearly as important as how you secure the rope to the limb. Common knots won't do, it should be rigged with multiple wraps so that the rope is held *firm* and immobile where it is attached to the branch. I use a double-layered stilson hitch terminated with two-half hitches and a stopper-knot., 

I have had plain old arborplex in a tree at my in-laws for about 10 years. No signs at all of wearing out the rope or branch. One of my knots did need to be re-tied two years ago.

Otherwise two things will happen: 
1. You could eventually wear out the rope at the point least likely to be inspected for wear. 
2. You would almost certainly damage the bark of the tree with the constant sawing action of the rope. Branch dies, swing goes away.

Better option is to tie the rope to two steel eye bolts embedded in the branch. Less wear on the rope, little damage to the tree.

If you have never hung a swing on a tree, you should be aware that very few branches work well. Most branches have an upward slope. This causes the swing to have a different path for each side of the seat, and they swing crazy. A good horizontal branch is hard to find.


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## pdqdl (Apr 28, 2008)

safeT1st said:


> Just wondering if there could be any liability issues involved with this . You know how it is these days , the kids from down the road get on it , break their limbs and suddenly someone has to be held responsible .



You can bet there is. 

Ask them to sign a written notice that the rigging is only guaranteed to hold for 6 months, and that twice annual inspections are required. Then offer to do the inspections for a fee. 

They decline, you're off the hook. Otherwise, a decent source of revenue. So long as you are taking a risk, you might as well get paid for it.


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## Toddppm (Apr 28, 2008)

Thanks JPS, think that small of a rope is comfortable for a swing?

I've seen a report where climbing rope left out in the elements was junk after less than a year, but it was full sun. Just trying to choose what will last the best. 

I hadn't thought about the didn't lengths swinging in different arcs, this will be on an angled branch too 

If tied onto through bolts, what kind of protection would you use instead of a thimble to reduce the tight bend?


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## pdqdl (Apr 28, 2008)

Tell the customer to use regular inspections. Your average arborist rope is so much stronger and more wear resistant than your average swingset chain, it isn't even funny. Tell them to watch for fraying rope. If it shows noticable fraying, they should consider a replacement.

Almost all arborist ropes are rated at more than 6000 lbs. That is enough to safely swing a 600lb child. On only one rope. Most swings use two.

Protect the rope? Nah. Steel on Steel will wear out before the rope will, unless you build it around some sharp edge. Look at playground swings and you will see a nylon bushing in a steel ring, wrapped around an anchor yoke & bolt. Your greatest risk is knot failure.

I build a great swing at my house using only one rope. Rigged rather high in the tree, I made it adjustable (up & down) for children of different heights & weight. Rope goes through the center of the seat, under one side of the bottom, up to a pioneer knot (look in your Boy Scout pioneering merit badge book for that one, hard to find elsewhere) and back down through the other side to the center of the seat again. Keeps the seat horizontal and safe. If the seat breaks, the rope still catches the kid. It is also pretty hard for a kid to fall off when they are sitting in a triangle of rope.

Since you can't swing yourself from a single rope swing like you can from a traditional kid's swing, someone on the ground has to do the swinging. I attach a long rope to the rig just above the kid's head, then start pulling. I stand to the side of the bottom of the arc, and give it a good tug when it gets to the apex of the swing. Keeps it straight; pull harder and it goes higher.

HUGE swings are possible on a rope anchored 30-40 feet in the air. I have had my kids 15' up in the air, hanging on with wild excitement. It's more fun than a carnival ride. Kid's go nuts over it, and the adult has control over how high they go. Unfortunately, my children always want me to come out and play with their friends!


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## mrowens33 (Jun 23, 2009)

*Limb selection*



pdqdl said:


> Tell the customer to use regular inspections. Your average arborist rope is so much stronger and more wear resistant than your average swingset chain, it isn't even funny. Tell them to watch for fraying rope. If it shows noticable fraying, they should consider a replacement.
> 
> Almost all arborist ropes are rated at more than 6000 lbs. That is enough to safely swing a 600lb child. On only one rope. Most swings use two.
> 
> ...


Is it okay for a two roped swing to have a slight upward angle of the limb? Would it still twist the swing even if the limb is 25 feet up? I'm not sure I have any limbs that are perfectly horizontal on any of the trees in my yard. I would prefer to have a two roped swing but would settle for a single rope if there is no way to make it work with two.


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## TimberMcPherson (Jun 23, 2009)

When we make swings we sometimes use steel cable for the majority of the swing with the last few metres being a 16mm bit of marine rope to be gripped on, held on my a shackle. Its to thick for a kid to tie a knot and cause trouble but its resistant to UV, water and general abuse and good to hold on to and easy to splice. Other thing is that the steel cable is unclimbable by kids so no big falls.

a scooter tire makes a pretty good seat/foothold at the bottom, and isnt heavy enough to hurt anyone to bad.


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## mrowens33 (Jun 23, 2009)

*Check my prior post on rope length on a two rope swing*



TimberMcPherson said:


> When we make swings we sometimes use steel cable for the majority of the swing with the last few metres being a 16mm bit of marine rope to be gripped on, held on my a shackle. Its to thick for a kid to tie a knot and cause trouble but its resistant to UV, water and general abuse and good to hold on to and easy to splice. Other thing is that the steel cable is unclimbable by kids so no big falls.
> 
> a scooter tire makes a pretty good seat/foothold at the bottom, and isn't heavy enough to hurt anyone to bad.



do you have any ideas on the rope length on an slightly angled branch?
Does the branch need to be totally horizontal for a two rope swing to swing straight. Wouldn't the ropes being very long make the difference negligible ?


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## TimberMcPherson (Jun 23, 2009)

mrowens33 said:


> do you have any ideas on the rope length on an slightly angled branch?
> Does the branch need to be totally horizontal for a two rope swing to swing straight. Wouldn't the ropes being very long make the difference negligible ?



We have only made single line swings, and we seldom tie to a horizontal limb but us the horizontal limb as a redirect and secure the line to the main trunk. it minimises stress on the horizontal limb.

I would think the height of the horizontal limb would effect the ability to make a good seat swing, remembering the swing and only be used at 90 degrees to the limb, and that the higher the limb the more likelyhood there is that the swing will twist.


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## Toddppm (Jun 23, 2009)

We did theirs and mine on upwardly angled limbs. Mine is pretty severe, maybe 6 ft. height difference between the sides but is tied about 40 ft. up, works fine. I have mine tied through a long piece of Oak about 3" thick and 5 ft. wide, makes a fun multikid/adult swing.


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## mrowens33 (Jun 23, 2009)

*My finished product, next to hang it tomorrow*

Here is the finished product. I found some quality dock line at a local marine store. The seat is made of 2 by 6 cedar with a piece of oak from a pallet at the bottom. It is glued with gorilla glue and screwed together with stainless screws. The set will hold just about anybody's butt. Looking at the pics, I need to clean up some of the glue a little more. My only concern is that it might be a little too slippery. In the spot where I tied the rope loops to the long rope to go up the tree the rope loops slide through the double fisherman's loop. I have a feeling I will need to modify this attachment when I hang it tomorrow. I'll post an update then. Anybody have any other suggestions????


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## treemandan (Jun 23, 2009)

mrowens33 said:


> Here is the finished product. I found some quality dock line at a local marine store. The seat is made of 2 by 6 cedar with a piece of oak from a pallet at the bottom. It is glued with gorilla glue and screwed together with stainless screws. The set will hold just about anybody's butt. Looking at the pics, I need to clean up some of the glue a little more. My only concern is that it might be a little too slippery. In the spot where I tied the rope loops to the long rope to go up the tree the rope loops slide through the double fisherman's loop. I have a feeling I will need to modify this attachment when I hang it tomorrow. I'll post an update then. Anybody have any other suggestions????



Yes, The hardware looks flimsy.

This is my newest seat for the rope I got dangling out the this hear tree. Its is the same principle as Timber explain about using the horizontal limb as a redirect intstead I just supportted the limb from above. The adjustable padded straps themselves can be used to connect a swing to a limb. They are the gray things the green rope is spliced to.


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## Mikecutstrees (Jun 23, 2009)

I installed a swing for a customer and the branch was slightly angled. I fixed the problem by letting one eye bolt hang a little lower than the other. This made the attachment points of equal height and the swing swung straight. .... Mike


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