Kids love swings. And adults love them as well. They provide simple yet fantastic entertainment. You can see them at the park or in schoolyards. But, nowadays there are portable swings which you can buy online and attach pretty much wherever you want and have your personal swing.
Now, in most cases, you will need a tree. Simply put, that’s how swings work. You need a high point to which you can attach a swing in order for it to hang. And trees come as a first pick. They are high enough for this to work and they have branches that can support the weight of the swing. Or not, but you can rationally figure out which are capable of handling the weight.
In this article, we’ll cover a situation that occurs more than you would imagine. And that situation is: How to hang a swing from a tree without branches? We’ll see what are different techniques you can use in order to pull the most out of your branchless tree and what tips you can utilize in order to make the best swing out there.
Make An Artificial Branch
If your tree doesn’t have branches, don’t let that stop you. You won’t need to plant a new tree and wait 10+ years for it to grow. No, there’s a better way. You can make an artificial branch.
Sturdy Tree
First of all, you need to pick a sturdy tree. Even though it doesn’t have a branch that is needed, it still needs to be sturdy enough in order for our little experiment to work. If your tree isn’t sturdy enough that’s the first sign you should pick a different one instead. Even though swinging is fun and exciting, it needs to be safe. So if your tree is rotten and bends easily, your kid will be in danger and swinging can turn into a slight problem real fast. This may be a bit different if your kid is a baby and doesn’t have a lot of weight. You still need to check if the tree is sturdy enough but it can bend a little, the swinging won’t cause any damage. If you want to learn more about how to make a good baby swing with the help of a regular tree, check it out here.
Material
Let’s move on. Now that you picked a tree that can hold up the weight of the person that will be using the swing, the next step is creating the artificial branch. First of all, you need to pick the material of your branch. It needs to be flexible enough but strong at the same time. So look into some metal constructions or pipes or a wooden board. It needs to have a solid resistance. Also, you’ll drill a couple of holes through the material and attach it to the original tree, so have that in mind while picking out your desired tree. As for the length, the suggested number shouldn’t be less than 1.8 meters. That’s enough to support the weight of the swing.
Attach the New Branch
Now that you have created the artificial branch, you need to connect it to the tree. And this is the hardest part of this job. First, pick a spot where the branch will attach to the tree. You need to know the length of your swing before you do this in order for it to have a proper distance from the ground. In most cases, this spot will be where the rest of the branches start to separate from the tree trunk. You will need a drill, some nails, and bolts. Make sure that when you find the correct height you drill your artificial branch as strongly as possible – in order to avoid moving around when swinging which can be very dangerous.
Hang The Swing
Now comes the real thing. You are just minutes away from completing your swing. Presumably, you have the swing ready. You probably bought it online and it comes with a set of cables or ropes and a seat at the end of it. Tie the knots above the artificial branch or drill through it, whichever you find more convenient. You just need to be sure that the swing is in position and that the ropes won’t break off or untie. As for the length of the swing, the best choice would be to check it with your kid. Place him in the seat and see if his legs touch the ground. That should be just enough to give a little momentum when they start swinging by pushing from the ground. If they don’t touch the ground with their legs or if they are touching it with their knees, you need to adjust the length of the swing by shortening or lengthening the ropes.
Hang A Swing Using Two Trees
This could be even better than the previous tip. If you have two trees that don’t have the needed branches but are close to one another, you could use a similar concept such as mentioned above in order to create a fantastic swing. This solution offers even more safety as the idea is to connect the wooden or metal board (the same one that’s used in the first example) to connect the two trees together. Now your swing will have more stability as it will be connected to two trees whereas in the previous example it was attached only to one. Basically, in this situation, the swing can probably never fall off.
When you finish the “frame” and connect the two trees together with the board, now it’s time to attach the swing. This is the same as in the previous example, just tie the knots and check if the length of the swing is alright. Correct if needed.
No Branches No Problem
If your kids want to swing but you don’t have a tree with branches nearby or the branches just aren’t high or low enough, don’t panic at all. It’s more than possible to create a swing on a branchless tree and hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll be able to do it. It’s not a hard project and we bet that if you do it correctly, both you and your kid will happily enjoy the swing you created for many years to come.
Matan Feldman, Dad & Swing Expert
My Name is Matan Feldman and I am a dad of a toddler and an infant based out of Atlanta. I manage this website, Safe Baby Fun (formerly known as Baby Swing Hubs), and mostly blog here about baby activity gear including swings, walkers, bouncers, and jumpers, among others. From what I have learned being a parent for over 7 years now, I am very excited to share good tips with other parents especially if it can improve the safety of kids. I work with a baby products testing and review company and over the past 2 years, I have gained deep insight into baby products and am happy to recommend them here. When I am not wasting time learning one or two tricks at home with my two kids, I spend a lot of time blogging on this site or on other sites to assist parents looking for first-hand insight or feedback on different baby products – especially from a dad’s perspective. If you have any questions, you can reach me using my email, matan@safebabyfun.com.