DIY Platform Swing/Glider

So I finally have a project to share with you all, yipee!!  I know, it's been awhile.  However I am really excited at how this turned out and hopefully will be helpful to some of you. 

I found a really neat platform/glider swing in a catalog that I wanted to buy for my oldest (well, all three kids actually).  But at over $300 I didn't want to spend that kind of money, so my Dad and I set out to make it ourselves.  Below is the finished project, let me give you a general idea of what we did, okie dokie?

Below is a picture of what we bought for the project.  We went to our local big box home improvement store, spent about $55 total.  We purchased the following:

• precut 3/4" plywood sheet, cut to 3'x4'
• two precut sections of 1" diameter pvc pipe, 2' long
• four pvc end caps
• 2 pieces foam insulation for wrapping exterior pipes, 4' long
• 2 sections of chain link, 6 links per section, rated to hold 350 lbs
• section of indoor/outdoor carpet to cover the plywood base
• truck rope, rated to hold 300+ lbs, can't remember exact length, probably 30 ft or so
• 2  lock loop/carabeeners to hold chain to swing set, but we didn't end up needing them

Here is a picture of the swing/glider that I found.  If you are interested, you can read more about it  here:

So a brief overview of what we did.  We took the chain link and looped it through the hooks on the swing set, those that you'd use to attach a swing.  We then ran the rope through the chain link, knotting it off at the bottom as you can see to keep the rope from moving around.

We didn't end up using the locking loops/carabeeners we originally purchased because as you can see the opening for the chain to attach to the hoop on the swing set is pretty small.  However if you had a swing set with a larger loop opening, or for extra peace of mind you could definitely use those locking loops to attach the chain to the loops on your swing set.

A view of the swing looking down.  The platform as you can see has rounded edges, we cut the edges with a sawz-all and then sanded them smooth and rounded them off.  The rope was strung through the handles, then through the top of the platform and was knotted off on the underside.

We stapled the carpet directly to the board, using a staple gun.  We split the pipe insulation along the pre-cut side and then wrapped it around the edges and then used the staple gun to affix it to the board as well. 

We used a drill to drill holes in the pvc pipe, then threaded the handles through the rope.  We knotted off above and below the handles to make them more stationary.

So, this little tutorial wasn't exactly in the order done.  But hopefully you get the general idea.  Please feel free to ask any questions necessary.  I didn't really take the time when I made this to write it all down, so I'm writing this from memory (which isn't the greatest!)

My kids have been having a blast on this thing.  They can stand and swing front to back or side to side.  They sit and play or read on it.  Two kids at a time can sit on it.  It also was made to grow with them, so we can adjust the height by simply moving the knots on the rope to raise or lower the swing.

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