Building a big swing in the garden

[carled]

Hello All.
Interested in any links/ideas/suggestions for building a large swing in the garden for the kids (who have outgrown the little metal framed one) and also me!

Current ideas are either to try and go for a sort of a-frame construction with some long-ish poles either side leaning against each other to give more stability at the base or alternatively two thicker poles (maybe old telegraph poles or something similar?) simply concreted into the ground to a couple of feet or so, then a scaffold pole fixed across the top to support the swing. The second way would be simpler, but I'm wondering about the stability of the structure as the swinging takes place - there'd be a fair bit of force pulling the structure laterally as the swinging took place... maybe safer to add a couple of supporting struts too?

Anyone got any ideas of minimum diameter poles I'd need - or would I need to speak to a timber yard to get an idea of the supporting weight possible from a given diameter/type of wood?

 

[Thermo]

try a fencing or landscaping supplier. they should be able to get you machined round poles. they normally come in 50/75 and 100mm diameter. Depends how heavy you want it, but i would suggest a minimum of 75mm. yu can then bolt them through to form the frame with threaded bolts, set the bottoms in concrete and its easy to set up the swing off the central timber spar. dont forget to put plenty of playbark underneath!