How to Make a Rope Tree Swing

Sand the faces, edges and ends of all three pieces. Drill pilot holes in each 3-inch piece. Glue the 3-inch pieces to the underside of the seat so that both edges and one end are flush with the end of the seat (see the Rope Swing Project Diagram). Then secure them with screws.

Mark the locations of the four 1-inch holes (for the 3/4-inch rope). Place a piece of scrap wood beneath the swing seat and drill the holes. Sand around the top and bottom edges of the holes. Then sand to round over all sharp edges and corners on the seat.

If you have leftover primer and paint, you can paint the seat. Apply one coat of primer, let it dry and lightly sand any rough spots. Then apply two coats of paint. Don’t miss the insides of the rope holes.

Place a snap link on each seat rope. Measure from the tree limb to the ground and cut two pieces of rope about 3 feet longer than that distance. (We needed about 18 feet of rope on each side.) See our video Knot Tying for a Rope Tree Swing on how to tie a double-bowline knot on one end of each rope. Throw the knotted end over the tree limb where you’ll hang the swing, pass the other end through the loop and pull the knot snug against the tree limb. Then tie a second double-bowline knot and attach the snap link with the swing rope so the seat is about 18 inches above the ground. Repeat for the other tree limb rope.