Watermelon Rope Swing

$60
1-2 Day
Easy
I've been wanting a rope swing in our yard for years and now we finally have one! Using a pre-cut wood round that I braced for extra strength and painted to add a little extra fun!
We took a long walk around the yard and found the perfect tree. Then we used some scrap rope and tested the strength of the branch. After we trimmed thing up a bit it was ready for the real thing.
To create the seat, you'll want to start by finding the center of your round to drill the hole for your rope. Now, find the grain of where your wooden round was glued together. Then you’ll nail the brace pieces across the grain to give it extra support.
To Paint:


* Paint the entire piece with primer (I use Kilz) it helps your swing last longer by sealing the wood


* Sketch out a large circle (I like the free hand look) leaving a border of around 3 inches for the “rind”


* Paint in the center of your “melon” with a mix of dark pink and red


* Now the outside border gets a coat of the medium (grass) green


* Add varying wide and narrow stripes of the light (mint) green
* Using the darkest green, add a wedge/stripe between almost every stripe of the light green


*To finish the slice add in your “seeds”. I sketched mine in pencil first to make sure they were spaced right then filled them in in permanent marker.


* Let swing dry/cure overnight. Finish with a coat of sealer. (Let it dry 2 days before you hang.)
Hanging the swing:


We tied a long length of scrap rope (from another project) to a piece of scrap wood and tossed it over our chosen branch to test it's strength.


When we were ready to hang the real thing we used the test rope to pull the new rope back over the limb. I drilled a hole into the side of the tree to screw in a large hook to catch the swing when it’s not in use. I tied off the sing below the hook to keep it from shimmying up the tree while kids are swinging on it.
Fun! I can even swing on it! (We won't be sharing that video.)
Jennifer Tucker
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  • Beth McCracken Shepard Beth McCracken Shepard on Jun 25, 2015
    awesome! I found 3 swing disk a few years ago at a thrift store for $5 each! already painted! we added 2 on the side of the carport { attached with power pole hooks and cables } and the grand kids love them! the other one was used to make a zip-line with cables and a disk between 2 tree's in our sloping backyard...the grands love it!
  • Cindy Cindy on Jun 25, 2015
    That makes me wish I had a big tree to do that with...Im sure my granddaughter would love it! I will have to pass that on to my daughter.. I bet she would play on it for aloooong time LOL You did a wonderful job! THanks for sharing your project :)
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