Porch Swing Redo

New Moon Vintage
by New Moon Vintage
5 Materials
$50
1 Week
Medium
I recently redid some metal outdoor chairs I found on the road someone was throwing away. I have posted those on Hometalk. I had the idea to take my old porch swing with the same torn mesh and redo it to match match my new outdoor chairs.
The process to do the swing is the same as the chairs. First thing I did was remove the rest of the mesh that was on the swing and unscrewed the metal straps from the sides of the swing which is what held the mesh in place by screws. The center of the seat took a little persuading and I ended up having to cut it out with a utility knife. Once that was done I wiped down the swing with a damp lint free cloth. There was rust that had to be taken care of so I used a metal grinder but ended up using 60 grit sandpaper to remove the rust and make it smooth. Now it was time to cut the wood to length.



We cut the 1x4s to the length we needed. Next you want to place each board on the seat part of the swing with spacers (if you want spaces in between each plank). We used spacers that we ripped to 1/4in from a 1x3 we had.
We placed each precut plank on the seat portion of the swing with the spacer between each plank. Make sure you number the boards on the back so you will know the order to put them back in. All metal we found is not exactly straight when it comes to these swings. You might need to make special cuts for those planks.
You will now need to find and mark the edge of the board where the center of the tubing meets the plank so you know where to put the carriage bolts. Once we had our boards marked we transferred that mark across the top of the board and found the center. Did this on both ends of the all planks. That is where we would predrill pilot holes for the carriage bolts.
You want to drill the holes while the plank is off the swing. Once we predrilled the pilot holes we put the seat planks back on swing in order in which we numbered them so the holes would line up like we marked. You will want to clamp each board down and get extra hands for the next step to hold down plank while the hole is being drilled in the base. Using the same drill bit we drilled through the hole on the plank all the way through the metal of the chair. Once the plank and the metal base had the same hole we removed the planks and drilled a larger hole for carriage bolt to go through. Planks were put back on swing and larger hole drilled through the metal. Carriage bolt was then fit in place to make sure it went all the way through. Repeat for the rest of the seat.
While the bottom seat is still bolted we began to do the same for the back. Once that was complete we removed all planks and fasteners to start painting and staining them.
We sprayed a metal primer on the swing because of the rust that was present. Then sprayed all metal parts with Rustoleum Hammered in black. The planks were stained in Minwax Red Oak.
Once everything was dry we attached everything back on the swing. As you can see in the pic the bottom plank on the back is wider. This is because the back is longer and the spacing was not working to match the seat part. We wanted everything to be the same. So we used a 1x6 which worked great and the spacing was the same. When reinstalling the planks make sure you put the spacers back as you put your planks on until bolts are tighten.



Love my matching swing and chair set. The swing and chairs are very comfortable even without cushions.
Suggested materials:
  • 1x4s   (Orange County Building Center)
  • All Thread   (Free)
  • Bolts, Nuts and Washers   (Orange County Building Center)
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5 of 11 comments
  • Diane Forte Barfield Diane Forte Barfield on May 09, 2018

    I have been searching for a new swing but they are so expensive! Thank you for a way to redo an old one. I am doing this.

    • New Moon Vintage New Moon Vintage on May 09, 2018

      I actually gave this one back to my 92 year old mother after I finished it. She gave it to me several years back and really did not use it as much as I thought. She was looking for something her and her 97 year husband could use in their new apartment on the patio. This fit the bill. They love it. And thank you for the compliment. You will love it.

  • Denise Hardy Denise Hardy on May 13, 2018

    What a great job you did :)

    • See 1 previous
    • Denise Hardy Denise Hardy on May 13, 2018

      Your welcome :) I'm getting back to almost 'normal' now - I just need to get more strength back - thanks for asking Susan :)

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