• The cushion is used to cover the swing set and protect you from sunlight and rain. Not all swings have cushions. It’s used most often in canopy swing sets.
• A top beam is very important for every wooden swing set. It supports the swinging seat and should be very robust and well fixed.
• The swing set on this picture is based on the popular construction called A-Frame. There are other frame types too but most of them are more complex.
• The support brace fixes the A frame and ensures stability of the entire swing set.
• Thick and robust ropes or chains connect the swing seat to the beam at the top.
• The swing seats can be of many types. Some swings have canopies, other just simple wooden or metal bench, or single seats.
• Having armrest is completely ooptional, but most swing seats do have backs for safety.
• Most swing sets are installed right on the ground but if the soil is too soft you may need to build a concrete foundation. Otherwise see how to anchor a swing set.

This is a bit unusual, as most DIY fans would build a wooden one. But metal swing sets have their advantages, and best of all, this one can be built really cheap – perhaps $20 or $30 can do the work for you.

So What Kind Of Metal Swing Are We Building Here?

This will be a swing that’s most appropriate for indoor usage. It will have an upper support bolt, a center leg with support bolt, and tripod support bar.

Here’s what you will need for it:

• 3 1-inch thick, 8 feet long steel or aluminum conduit pipes
• 1 long bolt (for upper support, so it should be long enough to go through 3 pipes) and 3 other bolts.
• Eye bolts
• Nuts

Well, our metal swing is more appropriate for indoor usage, but who knows

Let’s Work

You will need to cut these pipes. Here are some ways to do it.

1. Cut 3 2-ft pieces for braces and upper support. File the ends where the pipes are cut to ensure there will be no sharp places. The rest (longer) parts of the 3 pipes will be your outer and center legs (perhaps they will be around 8 feet long each)

2. Now you’ll need a pipe-bender. The 3 cut pipes need to be bended at 30 degrees to form the top of the swing set where will be the support bolts and the tripod.

3. You will have to connect the 3 pipes with a bolt.

The first outer leg should be drilled in the center of the pipe, half-way before the bend, which means about 1.5″ from the end of the pipe. Make the drill also at 30 degrees.

The center leg should also be drilled 1.5″ from the end of the pipe but drill it on the side instead of the curved area.

The second outer leg should be drilled similarly to the first, at 30 degrees.

4. Raise the swing set frame – it should look a bit like a pyramid. The outer legs should be 6-7 feet apart from the center leg.

5. Put the upper support bar. With three bolts attach it between the 3 legs right under the bends. Make sure it’s well centered and will be parallel to the ground. The support bar should be a piece pf the pipe long about 1.5″ feet.

6. Attach swing set hangers on the upper support bar. Two hangers should be on the both sides, near the ends, and one near the center of the ceter support bar.

7. If you are going to use the swing set indoor, you may need to add caps at the bottom of the legs.

Then you need to attach the swings and that’s it! Below is a GREAT video that explains the same thing:

Please do not allow little kids swing without your supervision! Use any DIY guides and even ready swing sets with caution and at your own risk.

However if you want to build a good swing set, playset, or to create swing set accessories yourself, you will need to gain some experience in DIY, woodworking, painting and more. I can’t cover everything here and there is no need to do it. Instead of that, why don’t you check some of these great blogs below?

1. DIY Life

DIY Life is a cool blog with tons of DIY projects and tips including a lot of outdoor stuff. Besides helping you on general DIY skills there are some great posts about swing sets, for example Five easy playground structures for under $100 total.

2. LumberJocks

LumberJocks is one of the most complete woodworking showcases I have ever seen! It has literally thousands of projects (currently 30,000) with pictures and all. The site is also a community with blogs, forums and events. It’s a great place to learn all kind of DIY stuff and to find some great swing sets like this baby one.

3. Dan’s Shop

Dan’s Shop is the personal woodworking blog of a craftsman who gives a lot of pictures and very detailed instructions on DIY projects. Regardless the fact there is nothing about swing sets, his blog will be very useful for you.

4. Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog

Steve Snedeker’s Landscaping and Gardening Blog will not teach you woodworking neither will show you how to build a swign set. But this blog has great landscaping ideas and advice which will help you decide where and how to form the playground in your garden.

5. Outdoor Furniture Buyer’s Guide

Outdoor Furniture Buyer’s Guide is not about making but about buying outdoor furniture. Some of the posts however can give you great ideas for your swing set even if you are building it yourself. Check for example this patio loveseat!

6. I’m an Organizing Junkie

I’m an Organizing Junkie is a bit different than the other blogs listed here. Rather than specific DIY projects or buying advice you will find ideas about organizing your space, life and work. You will find inspiration for organizing your swing set building and your landscape there.

7. This Old House

Now let’s go back to blogs that deal with home improvement and DIY projects. This Old House is amazing content rich blog that has all kind of DIY and home repair tutorials, buyer guides and deal alerts. There are some cool how-to videos like for example How to Build a Tree Swing.

8. Danny Lipford

Danny Lipford is a respected expert on home improvement, but this is not the reason to include his blog here. The reason is that the blog is great and has guides and videos like this one about building a backyard swing. Pretty cool if you ask me.

9. Projects in Metal

We have covered a lot of woodworking advice sites. But what if you want to build or repair a metal swing set? Most people would give up and call a professional but you aren’t one of them, are you? Projects in Metal is a great blog for the amateur machinist. You will not find swing set plans there but you will learn a lot about how to work with metal.

10. Backyard Oasis

Finally, let’s look into some more general advice about arranging and landscaping your backyard at Backyard Oasis. But don’t think that this is just a general read – the blog has a sepcific section about backyard childrens area.

If you can add something to the list, I’ll be happy to hear!

The guide assumes that you are installing a standard “A-type” swing frame like the one described here. If your swing set uses a different frame, you may need to adjust the hole positions but everything else should be almost the same.

Let’s get the work done now.

Materials and tools you need

Preparing the foundation holes and anchoring a swing set doesn’t require much:

• A small spade. You will need to dig 4 holes about 16″ (40 cm) wide and deep. A small gardening spade should do the work unless the soil in your garden is too hard.
• A pail of concrete. You can prepare it yourself using cement, water and sand. If you need help, check here.
• Eight 10 or 12″ galvanized bolts or an anchor kit. (two for each leg) You will use these to attach the legs to the foundations.
• Nuts and washers to secure the bolts

A different way to handle the anchoring could be to install the swing before the concrete becomes solid, but using bolts is much better.

Let’s dig the holes!

Step 1: Mark the positions You should start working on the foundations only after you have built the swing set frame or at least know its exact size. Making a mistake with few inches on the long side is not fatal, but the short positions and keeping both “A” parts of the frame parallel is very important. Use the spade to mark the positions before you start digging.
Step 2: Dig the holes You need one foundation hole for each leg of the swing, so 4 holes. Dig them to about a cube with 16″ (40 cm) side. If you live in a place with cold season, you can dig a bit more. If the soil is too soft dig more or choose a better location for the swing set. Tamp the bottom and the side of each hole until they acquire enough stiffness.
Step 3: Pour concrete and anchor Now it’s the time to use the concrete. Pour it in each hole but don’t overfill. The top 1/4 should remain empty. You will put soil and grass in this space so with the time the swing set will look attached directly in the ground. After 24 hours use the bolts or the anchor kit to secure the legs of the swing set frame to the concrete. This operation may differ depending on the anchoring kits you have.

That’s all, your swing set is now secured. You may want to check out the other aspects of building swing sets.

Provided that you have all the materials on hand, you should be able to build this tree swing in a couple of hours. Don’t rush it however as the solidity of the construction of every swing is very important.

Let’s get to action.

Materials and tools you need

This is a simple outdoor swing so there isn’t much required:

• A tree. Don’t worry, you are not going to cut it down. You’ll just attach the swing to it.
• A thick board. Usually it will be wooden, but a thick and robust plastic board can also do the work. It should be about 20″ (50cm) wide and 35″ (90cm) long. Could be slightly smaller if only kids will use the swing.
• Two robust ropes. I can’t tell you how long, because this depends on how high branch on the tree you are going to use. In any case each of them should be minimum 4 feet / 120 cm because you swing will have height equal to about its half. In the guide below you will see why.
• Eventually a couple of rings You can make your swing without this, but if it will be used too often the ropes will fray from the friction into the wood, or the branch itself will be damaged. A couple of metal or plastic rings will significantly reduce the friction.
• Brace or drill. You will need to make a few holes in the board.

If you decide to add the rings, you should somehow put them onto the branch. Eventually this can happen easier by using half rings instead of full ones.

Let’s build it!

Step 1: Choose a Tree You need a good tree, old and strong enough. Avoid using fruit trees like apple or pear, they aren’t strong enough. A walnut-tree, mulberry, oak or beech will do the best work. Pick a branch that is 2-3m (10 ft) from the ground so the outdoor swing is neither too high nor too low. The branch should be strong and relatively horizontal.
Step 2: Prepare the Board The board must be thick and robust. If you are building a swing for adults, it should be wider than if the swing will be used from kids only. Use the drill to make four holes into the board. They should be wide enough for a good strong rope to run through them. Make the holes at least 2 inches (5 cm) away from the ends of the board, so the connection between the board and the rope is stable enough. Don’t drill them too much inside however as there should be enough space for the person who will swing there.
Attach the Board To the Branch With Ropes Here is how you can calculate the length of each rope. It equals A + B + C + about 30% of thus formed length for the knots. If you are using rings, attach them on the branch at the positions where you plan to make the knots. The board should be exactly horizontal, otherwise swinging will be impossible. So it’s quite likely that your ropes will have different length. For maximum comfort you can attach handles on each rope.

That’s it! This outdoor swing is really simple. We’ll have guides on building more complex outdoor swing sets, so keep visiting us.

Here is a tree swing guide with more details and photos.

But is that really the only way to go?

For sure no! You can just go ahead and build your outdoor swing set yourself. I don’t promise you will save a lot of money although it’s very possible. What is guaranteed however is that you are going to have a lot of fun and most probably you’ll be able to build exactly the swing set you imagine. Don’t worry, it’s not that hard.

Let’s get to work:

The Tools You’ll Need

If you have some experience with do it yourself projects you most probably have all the tools required:

• A hand or powered saw. Even hand saw does the work, there is not so much sawing required.
• You’ll need a shovel to dig under the pillars
• The only tool that must be powered is a drill. Ok, you can do it with a hand drill, but it may be too exhausting.
• Like in every do it yourself project, you’ll need to have a hammer.

So here is what you’ll need for a good wooden one:

• Bolts, screws and eye bolts. Obviously you are going to use these for joining the swing set parts.
• Cement, sand and concrete for the pillars
• Several wood stocks depending on the exact design of the set you will be building
• Ready swings unless you want to build them yourself too

Essentially, that’s all. Of course you’ll need some patience and skillful hands.

Start Action

Enough about materials and tools, let’s see what you have to do:

• Choose the location. Install the swing set at a place that’s easy to access and at the same time away of garden buildings, benches, threes and prickly bushes
• Dig the foundations. The holes should be as wide as needed and at least 5 inches deep to ensure robust attachment of the pillars. See how to anchor the swing.
• Cut the parts. What parts exactly you need to cut depends on your swing set design, but at the very least you need four beams, horizontal bracing boards and swings
• Assemble the swing set together. At this point you’ll need the drill, bolts, eye bolts and screws. Make sure the construction is very stable.
• Paint and stain. Most wooden pieces will need staining to protect them from the water and sun. You can paint the swing set in any color, but if it’s intended for kids, choose something bright and colorful. Avoid lead-based paints.

That’s all. Now you just need to do it. If you don’t feel enough confident in yourself about designing your swing set, just download swing set plans online – you can find them for cheap or even free!

P.S. If you ever plan to build a swing set yourself you should consider learning more about the swing set safety