Ready to Ride

I saw one of these tire swings in a Tractor Supply Company store and thought they were pretty neat.  But, they were made with fake tires and I thought it would be fun to try it on my own.  An Internet search yielded the plans--seemed easy enough on paper.

The first challenge was to find the right kind of tire.  It had to be an old-fashioned bias ply tire because cutting radial tires would leave shards of the metal belt sticking out.  Not a good thing.  I tried the pile at the Recycling Center, but had no luck.  I asked our Automotive students.  No luck there either.  Finally, after about six months of casual checking, the Recycling Center came through.  Step one.

Using a Sharpie, I traced the template onto the tire, then started using metal snips to cut the pattern.  Whew, what a tough thing to do!

The final step was to turn the tire inside out, drill holes in the appropriate places, and install the bolts.  Ever try to turn a tire inside out?  That process took more than a little help from Sue.

Today, Horsey finally moved to his real home--hanging between two trees with about 10 feet of rope.  Looks pretty good, I think.  Hope Max and Daphne will enjoy the ride.