How to Make a Merry-Go-Round Swing
Side and Top View
A 6 by 6-in. piece of wood 12 ft. long is used for the center pole. Bore a 3/4-in. hole in each end to a depth of 6 in. Place a 3/4-in. bolt in each hole, the bolt being long enough to protrude 2 in. beyond the end of the wood. Short pieces of wood are nailed on the center pole about 2 ft. from the end that is to be used for the bottom. This should form a hub on which to place the inner ends of the extending spokes that hold the platform. The spokes are made from twelve pieces of 2 by 4-in. material 12 ft. long.
Usually a wheel can be found in a scrap pile suitable to place on the pin that is in the top end of the center pole. The wheel should be open or have spokes. This wheel is used to attach wires for guying. The bottom pin in the center pole is placed in a hole that is bored into a block of wood about 12-in. square and 3 or 4 in. thick. A piece of sheet metal should be drilled and placed on the pin between the block and end of the pole to make a smooth bearing. The center pole is now placed in position and guyed with six wires that are about 35 ft. long. Stakes are driven into the ground and the wires fastened to them and to the wheel at the top end of the pole. Care should be taken when attaching the wires to get the center pole to stand perpendicular. Twelve hooks should be placed at equal distances around the center pole about 1 ft. from the top end. Wires are fastened to these hooks and to the twelve 2 by 4-in. pieces used for the spokes. The wires should be tied around each spoke about 2 ft. from the ends. Space the spokes with equal divisions and cover the outer 2 ft. of the ends with boards, as shown in the plan sketch on the right hand end of the drawing. The boards may be nailed or bolted. If bolted and the wires made in a loop at the hooks, the swing can easily be taken apart and changed from one place to another.
Contributed by A. O. Graham, Fort Worth, Tex.