Tachyon Swings

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Blinky

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So I finally got the first one hung. I was by myself and only had an hour so it's gonna need some adjusting. This is the first of two swings I was commissioned to make and hang for a customer. They were initially conceived as simple single line disc swings and evolved from there. Including the crown cleaning that goes with them, they ended up averaging about $525 each... the customer didn't bat an eye. My materials cost is about $300 total for both.

Here's the big picture of the setup, it's tall so it has huge potential range. That made the placement tricky, I went with a smaller limb than I wanted but it's still 5", strong and healthy. I had some Cobra left over from a cabling job so I cabled the swing limb to a much larger crotch above it. There is some slack in the cable to allow the limbs to still move independently. Not ideal but I'm winging this... there isn't much research on tree swing design out there.
TachyonSwing_01.jpg


First thing I noticed was it twisted really easy... which could be fun but that wasn't the general idea of a seat swing so I'm going to spread the limb attachment points apart by about a foot. Here's a closer look at the attachment and cable...
TachyonSwing_02.jpg


After a lot of looking the customer chose Tachyon for the line. They didn't want 3 strand and Tachyon was cheaper than your typical yacht line and I never offered solid braid as a choice... cuz I hate solid braid and I can't splice it. Closeups of the seat and stainless round ring attachments...
TachyonSwing_03.jpg


TachyonSwing_04.jpg


They wanted high end swings for their two college grad kids. I was happy to oblige, it's fun to do something esoteric every now and then as long as the pay is good.

The second swing is made up but it will hang from a transom style bridge between two trees and I haven't put it up yet. I'll followup with more pics when i do.
 
Very schnazzy looking!

Did you coat the plank with anything? I know it's easy to replace, but better to urethane it so you don't have to deal with it later.

What's the velcro for?

love
nick
 
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  • #3
Thanks. The plank is treated lumber and the customer said the kids could paint it if they had a mind to so I left it as is. The velcro was there to keep the clove hitches in place before I hung it... I just forgot to remove it.
 
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  • #5
You think a foot wider would be enough?
 
How wide is that thing? I made some that seemed perfect size. I'll have to see if I have the measurements around somewhere...

love
nick
 
Okay, now I follow you guys. Yeah, push them apart 6" to a foot mo fo sho!

$525 sounds about right. Swings can get expensive fast.

How are they attached to the tree? I can barely see in the picture. I'm concerned about rubbing or girdling.

And you should go out 6 months and a year later to have a look at them...just to make sure they're doing alright.

love
nick
 
Wouldn't it be better for the branch to put a couple of bolts in? That's the way I was told to do it so as not to girdle the branch.
 
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  • #14
I decided not to bolt it because of the limb diameter. The way I sold it I'll be going back to inspect and adjust annually.

The tie-in points are have a 2" tubular webbing sleeve around the rope. It's tied off with a bowline.
 
Freakin' awesome! I installed a rope swing at my Mom's house last year for my neice when she goes to visit. It was nowhere near as nice as this one (made from 3/4" 3 strand). Excellent work!
 
I'm happy using j-lags for swings because the loads on the anchor are sooooo low compared to what the j-lag can hold. I prefer the j-lags because it is a little less damage to the tree (only drilling a 3" deep hole rather than a through-hole.

love
nick
 
Fine looking swing there. Excellent work.

I love doing off-the-wall (or should I say off-the-limb?) jobs like that.
 
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  • #23
I forgot about this thread. Here's the second one and the re-tie on the first one. The 2x12 is lagged to the left tree and just resting in the crotch of the right one. I was worried it would flex and wobble but it doesn't.

One thing I learned doing this, long rope make for less fun on a seat swing like these. You just can't get enough height without someone pushing you. I wanted to go with something single rope like a horizontal tire swing cuz they spin and stuff but I reckon these folks are just too sophisticated for that. It was an interesting job anyway and I have some Tachyon leftover to make lanyards.

TachyonSwing2_3.jpg


TachyonSwing2_2.jpg


TachyonSwing2_1.jpg


TachyonSwing2_4.jpg
 
shoot you could show them by using 1 leg, see what they think. i dont know how i missed this thread but its very cool, nice job!!
 
Blinky- one concern (that won't matter for a few years) is that after the tree grows in diameter, the 2x12 will get pushed against the bolts to the point where the board will take on a "C" shape, then eventually split.

I'd make sure they were looking for that and ready to replace the board at the right time.

I've worked on a ropes course that used this setup for other things and they usually have to be replaced about every 8 years.

love
nick
 
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