Kids Swing, would this work?

[coralhead]

do not use "pea gravel" to set posts. The post will never be tight in the ground. Think how hard it would be to pack a box of marbles tightly. Use dense grade rock or concrete.

 

[rd_macgregor]

Yep. A T isn't going to last very long at all. Make that a couple of 6x6s and a crossbar and you'd be good. You can have the crossbar hang over one end for a climbing rope.

Mine is exactly like that. I added exterior grade plywood gussets to connect the top crosspiece to the uprights and it has been pretty sturdy for about 20 yrs.

 

[4get gto]

View attachment 502227

∆ Too funny !

 

[bcp]

Use a regular A-frames and beam design, but put the supports on skids, staked down with rebar stakes. Move it for different seasons and to repair the grass. When the kids outgrow it, shorten the legs, hang a bench, and put it on your front porch.

Bruce

 

[MIkeWard]

Use a regular A-frames and beam design
I built a swings for my grand kids last spring
the uprights were 12' treated 4x6 stained..... brackets were 3x3 angle bolted together
equilateral triangle is most stable format base but I went with 8' spread at leg bottom/
Rock solid and a long swing arc for kids

 

[MossRoad]

When our last child left for college we took down the two swings and put up a porch swing for me and the wife. :thumbsup:

 

[4570Man]

I think it would probably work but I would use concrete instead of pea gravel. The post on top would be the weak link and it could be reinforced to work. I probably wouldn't use a 4x4 though. I'd go 4x6 or 6x6. It's inevitable that someone heavier than 60 pounds is going to sit on it and I'd afraid of the 4x4 isn't strong enough after the elements get the better of it.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

No, it's not going to work. The twisting forces will be enormous. You could use a 10x10 and it wouldn't hold.

 

[4570Man]

No, it's not going to work. The twisting forces will be enormous. You could use a 10x10 and it wouldn't hold.

The 6x6 isn't the weak link. Assuming he uses concrete instead of pea gravel the weak link is the 4x4 at the top. That's fixable by building a metal bracket instead of using a 4x4.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

The weak link is the rotational forces. To make it work would require massive oversizing of the members, and the cost would be far greater than just building it right in the first place.