My first swing-set as a kid was a little metal store-bought deal with the flat plastic seats supported by the double-link chains that you would pinch your fingers on. As my sister and I grew in size and daring, the whole frame would wobble and threaten to flip off its moorings whenever we got too rambunctious.

Now, of course, this is a situation which my father could not put up with for long. Swing-set v2.0 was constructed from barn-beam timbers with wooden seats and twisted wire cable (with a protective wrapping of thick polyethylene hose). A rarely used chin-up bar was a last minute addition. My sense of scale is probably way off, but I remember this swing as being ten to twelve feet high.

The third family swing was the result of a move across the creek and featured a return to the A-frame style construction of the store-bought swing, but on a scale that Dad could live with. Not quite as tall as the barn-beam swing, but just as solid, this version was built from old steel or iron piping welded together. I was too old by this time to have used this swing enough to remember the details well, but I think chain was back with rubber seats as the new feature. The other reason for my hazy memory is that we moved again about fifteen years ago (the problem with Dad's swingsets is that they don't travel well).

 

Now, finally, after a handful of barely mentionable tree swings, a new generation prepares for Swing-set Mark IV. I didn't have my tape measure, but I think that is four-inch angle iron welded to a truck wheel base and braced by pipes also welded to truck wheels. Unfortunately, I don't have any action shots; the ground was too soft to bring the back-hoe in to hoist the posts and cross-beam into place. The next report will show either the finished product or photos of the construction in progress.