Child Swing Seat

[JoeinWestMich]

My daughter asked me to make a swing seat for my grandson to hang from a tree in their backyard. I researched sizes and thickness for a child's swing seat and came up with this seat. The final size of the seat is 18 inches by 7.5 inches by .75 thickness. I made the .mpc for 11 by 7.5 by .75. That way, when I added up the 3.5 inches extra on each end to keep the board under the rollers, I ended up with the correct size. So no need for a jig and no waste to cut off after the carving. I did a quick round over of the 4 corners on a disk sander - a lot quicker than on the Carvewright and no need for a longer board.

I did not apply any stain to the select pine I used. I used 2 coats of thinned shellac to seal, painted the lettering, sanded to 220, then applied 3 coats of clear, gloss spar urethane.

Nothing fancy but grandson loved it. For those of you doing craft shows (I do not... only hobby for me right now), this could be a quick customized carve onsite if you take your Carvewright. I just got my Carvewright back from LHR for a warranty repair. Although that took a little longer than I hoped for, LHR did a FANTASTIC job. I honestly think it came back better (in addition to the repair) than I sent it in. Thanks LHR.

I am attaching the .mpc of the seat in case anyone wants to use it. Very easy to design but if this helps save you a few minutes then I am repaying the help I have been given here on the forum.

[ladjr]

Very nice job. I'm sure he will remember you every time he uses it.

[dbemus]

Nice work! Thanks for sharing the mpc. My nephew will have a new swing seat soon, with his name on it.

dbemus

[JoeinWestMich]

UPDATE TO MY POST STARTING THIS THREAD

One thing I didn't mention. Because the holes are drilled into the section that would normally be cut off as scrap (the 3.5 inches on each end), I did not use the Carvewright to cut the holes. I used a a .75 inch Forstner bit, center of the bit about 1.5 inches from each edge. Sorry for leaving that out.

I do like the Carvewright, but seem to still use my other woodworking stuff like the disc sander and drill press with Forstner bits when possible. I think I can do this stuff just as good if not better than the Carvewright, and with simple stuff like this it is a LOT faster. Plus I then save on hours used so the Carvewright can be used for more stuff I can't do without it.

Have some more projects that are in the finishing stage, and will share those pictures when done.

[peep]

Nice swing, and thanks for sharing. Looks like I need to build some for my grand kids.

[lynnfrwd]

I told Phil (my husband) just the other day that I wanted a swing for our grand kids in the big oak tree in the front yard.

Nice job.

[CNC Carver]

Nice work on the swing seat. Looks great!

[brdad]

I do like the Carvewright, but seem to still use my other woodworking stuff like the disc sander and drill press with Forstner bits when possible. I think I can do this stuff just as good if not better than the Carvewright, and with simple stuff like this it is a LOT faster. Plus I then save on hours used so the Carvewright can be used for more stuff I can't do without it.

In cases like that, I still use the CW to mark the hole location, which it can do without causing problems not being under both rollers. In the case of the swing seat, I'd make a line and set the 60° bit to to at a depth of .125, and then set the line length to .001" and then copy to the correct locations. This adds very little project time and marks your drill holes.

Nice idea for a swing!

[lawrence]

nice little project- thanks for sharing it and your experience with us

Lawrence

[TerryT]

That's great Joe, I bet he loved it! I do everything but carving with my other tools. Bandsaw and scroll saw for cutouts, router table for edges, etc.