Backyard Tire Swing Project

POST HAS BEEN UPDATED 

Please read the red writing.... and always use chain instead of rope when making a tire swing. Thank you.

~Yours sincerely, the idiot who can't follow directions.~

 I have UPDATED this post. Turns out, there is a reason why they recommend chain instead of rope.....the rope will eventually fray and break under the weight of the tire and the several people on it. This, luckily, did not happen to several people....just me. At first I was mortified that my own weight could destroy the rope with just one sitting....then I looked at the rope and saw how frayed it truly was from all the friction. 

You wouldn't believe it, but THIS is the tire swing I grew up swinging on. :-) I recently revamped it for my munchkin to cruise on. Sure, I could have gotten a newer tire....but this one came with lots of memories. And, as many scientist will tell you....tires are not going to go anywhere for a long time. So, this one is still in good shape. 

I found directions for making my own tire swing HERE. Then, I promptly disregarded half the directions and used my own ideas. :-) (Turns out, not a good call.) I recommend the professional directions, personally. Mine turned out kinda *interesting*. For instance.....I decided to use rope instead of chain (And, that was a really bad idea. Use Chain instead. K?) . Nothing wrong with that, right?? (Wrong) Right. (WRONG.)Unless you buy *dynamic* rope instead of static. My rope kept stretching and every time I tied the knot higher the tire kept sinking back to the ground. Speaking of tying knots.....take a look at this beauty:

Can you believe how professional I tied that sucker?? It never even had a chance.

The truth is, I did actually use some professional (directions followed) knots in the making of this tire swing. For instance, I whipped out the ole Buntline Hitch and sprung a little Backup Knot for added security.  The reason why the knot above looks so darn funky is because I had a lot of leftover rope and I didn't want to cut it in case I had to retie it at a later point (because of all the darn stretching). But, you're not going to use rope anyway. Right? RIGHT? You're going to be good little crafters and use chain.

The only other part of the directions I varied on was where I used a locking nut on the rope-tire attachments. They recommend using a locking washer before the fender washer....which is all fine, but I feel so much safer having a locking nut on there as well. So, in my mind that was a solid choice. I'm going to stand behind THAT one choice, however.  Feel free to decide not to follow me, as apparently, I'm not too bright. :-)  Just make sure you choose the most sturdy and safe hardware out there and ensure that everything is well tightened for the safety of the children who'll be riding on it.

I shared this post at the following funky parties:

A Crafty Soiree