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Everyone Loves These Giant Swings
The Lawrie family playground - 23 acres along the North Fork Ninnescah River near Wichita, Kansas - had a basketball hoop, volleyball court, restroom and other amenities that were great for family gatherings. When granddaughter Emma pointed out that the one thing missing was a swing set, grandpa David Lawrie promised t
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Everyone Loves These Giant Swings AG WORLD 33-4-22 The Lawrie family playground - 23 acres along the North Fork Ninnescah River near Wichita, Kansas - had a basketball hoop, volleyball court, restroom and other amenities that were great for family gatherings. When granddaughter Emma pointed out that the one thing missing was a swing set, grandpa David Lawrie promised to get one. He planned to buy a manufactured one until he ran across a good deal on 8-in. and 10-in. square tubing with 3/16-in. sidewalls.
He dug four holes for 6-ft. long sections of 10-in. tube and welded 1-in. plate on top, leveling all four legs with an optical level. He welded two sets of legs, 16 ft. tall and 38 ft. wide, then used a Bobcat skid steer with a boom and a Kubota tractor with a lift to set them in place and weld the legs to the steel plates.
"I wanted to spread it out with more room between the swings," Lawrie says. He also set the legs at an angle for bracing and for extra room.
For additional support, Lawrie welded 6-in. angle iron between the two leg sections. For the swings, he purchased bushings from a used swing set and attached 1/4-in. chain (over 2,000-lb. test) and new swing seats.
"The swings hang down 13 ft. so you get a pretty good ride when you get them cranked up," Lawrie says. He adds that the two sets of four swings are spaced 28 ft. apart so that if swingers are in sync, they can just about touch feet.
"My son, Brian, and I got on them, and I was surprised how high they went. It's a pretty good workout," Lawrie says, adding that kids of all ages enjoy the oversized swing set. He spread 6 to 8 in. of woodchips over the sand on the ground as a safety cushion.
If he were to do it again, Lawrie notes he would have left the 10-in. tube 3 to 4 ft. out of the ground to make it easier to weld.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, David Lawrie, 129 N. Grove St., Wichita, Kansas 67214 (ph 316 267-6063).
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