Swings — land… and water

In any courtyard you can see flower beds and playground elements made from old tires. On river cruise ships and at docks they are used as fenders. But that is far from all the uses for automotive “footwear” that has served its time. Take swings, for example… If you replace the traditional seat board with a tire and place the mounting hardware inside, the absence of corners and protruding parts makes this exciting attraction quite safe. The design is simple to build and can be copied by almost anyone.

The base or supports for the swings are two frames bent from pipes about 40 mm in diameter and 7000 mm long. The frames can also be made in sections by joining short lengths with a cross insert pipe whose outer diameter equals the inner diameter of the main pipes. Such an assembly should be fixed with M8 bolts.

The pipes are bent in two places — at equal distances from the ends. The centers of the bend radii are 1200 mm apart, and the lower ends 2500 mm apart. The upper parts are braced so that in side view an isosceles triangle is formed. To stiffen the structure, the pipe ends are fixed in the ground using one of the methods shown in the figure. The connecting joints of the upper cross-members also serve as chain suspension points. The joints can be arranged in different ways. The options suggested here are made without a welder; all fastenings are bolted. The tire hangs on two or four chains of equal length, fixed at four points on it (from the inside) with bolts and washers. For a stable position of the tire, the attachment points should be spaced equally apart.

Water swings

Such swings are great fun. And not only fun — they are also a means of general physical training.

Their design is extremely simple — a metal or plastic barrel with a capacity of 200 to 600 litres, with two bent steel or aluminium pipes attached and foot platforms on them.

In the swings that I built and tested last summer on the Volga, a 200-litre metal fuel barrel was used. Steel pipes Ø 40 mm were welded to it with the drain plug open (the inside of the barrel had of course been cleaned of fuel residue).

The foot platform was made from 50 mm thick boards and nailed to the flattened pipe ends through drilled holes. The platform ends facing the riders were faced with thick rubber sheets.

The sheets are bolted on — eight M4 countersunk bolts each. The rubber was laid so that a 25 mm gap formed at the end. It protects the feet from accidental injury.

The finished swings were filed — all sharp edges were rounded, then primed and painted bright colours.

Two or four people use them at once. Resting their feet on the platform submerged in water, they alternately squat and straighten up, holding the handrail pipes.

«M-K» 7’87