Need help with a tire swing

I know this is probably a simple issue for you folks, but it is a problem
for me. We are going to put up a rope or tire swing for the kids. I have
no way of getting into the tree (I have an adult form of muscular dystrophy,
which has caused weakness in my legs). I can get the rope over the limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree. My dilema is that I
need a knot which I can tie at ground level, that will slip upwards to the
tree limb when I pull one of the dangling ropes. I know this will be a
little tricky as the rope coiled around the limb will have to move for this
to occur. Hopefully, all will be loose enough for this to occur.

Any help or other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack Rogers

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 17:26:35 GMT, "Jack Rogers" wrote:

I know this is probably a simple issue for you folks, but it is a problem
for me. We are going to put up a rope or tire swing for the kids. I have
no way of getting into the tree (I have an adult form of muscular dystrophy,
which has caused weakness in my legs). I can get the rope over the limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree. My dilema is that I
need a knot which I can tie at ground level, that will slip upwards to the
tree limb when I pull one of the dangling ropes. I know this will be a
little tricky as the rope coiled around the limb will have to move for this
to occur. Hopefully, all will be loose enough for this to occur.

Any help or other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack Rogers


The problem you will have is the 2 or 3 loops around the limb.
If just using one loop a simple slip knot will slide up the lenght
and tighten as tension is applied. Be warned... if you use this and there is a lot of
weight, the know will never be untied!
I hope this helps.





Harry's Happy Place
http://harryb41.homestead.com/HarrysHappyPlace.html

My Ebay Auctions
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...sort=3&rows=50

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 18:32:15 GMT, Harry wrote:

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 17:26:35 GMT, "Jack Rogers" wrote:

I know this is probably a simple issue for you folks, but it is a problem
for me. We are going to put up a rope or tire swing for the kids. I have
no way of getting into the tree (I have an adult form of muscular dystrophy,
which has caused weakness in my legs). I can get the rope over the limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree. My dilema is that I
need a knot which I can tie at ground level, that will slip upwards to the
tree limb when I pull one of the dangling ropes. I know this will be a
little tricky as the rope coiled around the limb will have to move for this
to occur. Hopefully, all will be loose enough for this to occur.

Any help or other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack Rogers


The problem you will have is the 2 or 3 loops around the limb.
If just using one loop a simple slip knot will slide up the lenght
and tighten as tension is applied. Be warned... if you use this and there is a lot of
weight, the know,(KNOT), will never be untied!
I hope this helps.





Harry's Happy Place
http://harryb41.homestead.com/HarrysHappyPlace.html

My Ebay Auctions
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...sort=3&rows=50


I think I need to learn how to spell. Gosh!





Harry's Happy Place
http://harryb41.homestead.com/HarrysHappyPlace.html

My Ebay Auctions
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...sort=3&rows=50

"Jack Rogers" wrote in message
...
I know this is probably a simple issue for you folks, but it is a problem
for me. We are going to put up a rope or tire swing for the kids. I have
no way of getting into the tree (I have an adult form of muscular
dystrophy,
which has caused weakness in my legs). I can get the rope over the limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree. My dilema is that I
need a knot which I can tie at ground level, that will slip upwards to the
tree limb when I pull one of the dangling ropes. I know this will be a
little tricky as the rope coiled around the limb will have to move for
this
to occur. Hopefully, all will be loose enough for this to occur.

Any help or other ideas would be greatly appreciated.


How about leaving two long lengths and using those on either side of the
tire, plank ,what have you, that will form the seat? The wraps around the
limb should stop it slipping but you may have twisting problems with one
rope on one side of the branch and the other rope on the opposite side.

Larry

"Larry Green" wrote in message
...

"Jack Rogers" wrote in message
...
I know this is probably a simple issue for you folks, but it is a
problem
for me. We are going to put up a rope or tire swing for the kids. I
have
no way of getting into the tree (I have an adult form of muscular
dystrophy,
which has caused weakness in my legs). I can get the rope over the limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the
fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap
the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree. My dilema is that I
need a knot which I can tie at ground level, that will slip upwards to
the
tree limb when I pull one of the dangling ropes. I know this will be a
little tricky as the rope coiled around the limb will have to move for
this
to occur. Hopefully, all will be loose enough for this to occur.

Any help or other ideas would be greatly appreciated.


How about leaving two long lengths and using those on either side of the
tire, plank ,what have you, that will form the seat? The wraps around the
limb should stop it slipping but you may have twisting problems with one
rope on one side of the branch and the other rope on the opposite side.

Larry

OOOPPSS......on second thoughts you may end up just swinging straight
towards the trunk this way!........OUCH!!!

Larry

I'm a little worried about the 2-3 loops around the limb. I guess if I can
find something to put around the rope that will allow the rope to slip
through, I could just hang over the limb once and might get about the same
effect as wrapping around the limb 2 or three times.

Where can I get instructions on tying a good slip knot?

Thanks,
Jack

"Harry" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 18:32:15 GMT, Harry wrote:

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 17:26:35 GMT, "Jack Rogers"
wrote:

I know this is probably a simple issue for you folks, but it is a
problem
for me. We are going to put up a rope or tire swing for the kids. I
have
no way of getting into the tree (I have an adult form of muscular
dystrophy,
which has caused weakness in my legs). I can get the rope over the limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the
fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap
the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree. My dilema is that I
need a knot which I can tie at ground level, that will slip upwards to
the
tree limb when I pull one of the dangling ropes. I know this will be a
little tricky as the rope coiled around the limb will have to move for
this
to occur. Hopefully, all will be loose enough for this to occur.

Any help or other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack Rogers


The problem you will have is the 2 or 3 loops around the limb.
If just using one loop a simple slip knot will slide up the lenght
and tighten as tension is applied. Be warned... if you use this and there
is a lot of
weight, the know,(KNOT), will never be untied!
I hope this helps.





Harry's Happy Place
http://harryb41.homestead.com/HarrysHappyPlace.html

My Ebay Auctions

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...rid=harryb4 1
&include=0&since=-1&sort=3&rows=50


I think I need to learn how to spell. Gosh!





Harry's Happy Place
http://harryb41.homestead.com/HarrysHappyPlace.html

My Ebay Auctions

http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...sort=3&rows=50

This was my fall-back if I couldn't work out something to allow tying to a
single rope. I'm not sure how the physics would work. It might be that if
the two ends are several inches apart, the swing might go even straighter
(not toward the trunk), because of the tension of the rope on the left and
that of the rope on the right might hold it in the center. However, it
might cause the tire to face sideways. I could probably eliminate the tire
turning sideways by using eyebolts to connect to the tire or a separate rope
looped through the tire that would cause the tire to turn straight. I also
thought about connecting the two ends to a stainless steel ring, then
running a single rope from the ring to the tire. I could probably get the
ring about 8' in the air by standing in the back of my pickup. Of course,
I'm just speculating with all this. The physics of the situation might run
the tire straight into the tree!

What type of rope is recommended for this sort of thing? I figure the
larger the rope, the less stress to the tree as more surface area should
lessen the tendency to cut into the limb. Also, a thicker rope would be
easier to hold on to and would be less likely to cause rope burns.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Jack Rogers

"Larry Green" wrote in message
...

"Larry Green" wrote in message
...

"Jack Rogers" wrote in message
...
I know this is probably a simple issue for you folks, but it is a
problem
for me. We are going to put up a rope or tire swing for the kids. I
have
no way of getting into the tree (I have an adult form of muscular
dystrophy,
which has caused weakness in my legs). I can get the rope over the
limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the
fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap
the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree. My dilema is that
I
need a knot which I can tie at ground level, that will slip upwards to
the
tree limb when I pull one of the dangling ropes. I know this will be
a
little tricky as the rope coiled around the limb will have to move for
this
to occur. Hopefully, all will be loose enough for this to occur.

Any help or other ideas would be greatly appreciated.


How about leaving two long lengths and using those on either side of the
tire, plank ,what have you, that will form the seat? The wraps around
the
limb should stop it slipping but you may have twisting problems with one
rope on one side of the branch and the other rope on the opposite side.

Larry

OOOPPSS......on second thoughts you may end up just swinging straight
towards the trunk this way!........OUCH!!!

Larry

"Jack Rogers" wrote in message news

... . I can get the rope over the limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree.

I'm very skeptical that 1) you can wrap the rope around the limb and then
move it (the "tensionless hitch" e.g., works precisely because of such
friction) and 2) that that would in any case protect the tree (the load
would STILL be borne into the tree on one side by the swing-loaded part,
and the wrapping if anything might strangle the limb).
..:. So, I'd scrap this idea.

Simply tie a loopknot to make a noose for the limb; OR, make an eye splice.
There are two directions, he make the eye long enough so that it will
extend fully around the limb and through the bight, making the attachment
to the limb a larkshead/girth hitch (and splitting the load to two parts
around the limb), or to have the knot/splice eye end before the line goes
through the bight, yielding the traditional noose. While I can conceive
of an *offset* loopknot that would ensure smooth running around the limb,
let's hope that a simple Bowline suffices.

You might want to pad the eye tip--which will be rubbed by the line going
down to the swing--with something, like a piece of garden hose. Perhaps
you will also like to have some think line connnected to the eye with
which to haul down the loop & rope?!

As for what type of rope, hmmm, if you live around some fishermans place
of business, maybe you can land some used ground or mooring line. E.g.,
here's a light by strong copolymer line called "Polysteel", used by lobstermen
and others:

POLYSTEEL¨ Ropes are superior to manila rope and conventional polypropylene
mono filament rope in virtually every respect. Polysteel¨ ropes are produced
on a unique state-of the art computerized production line which monitors all
aspects of the manufacturing process to extremely tight tolerances from
fiber extrusion to the finished rope. The result is a rope of unsurpassed
quality and consistency. Polysteel¨ ropes are manufactured from extruded
copolymer (polypropylene and polyethylene) fibers whose unique properties
result in ropes that, size for size, are almost triple the strength of
traditional high quality manila rope of twice the strength of conventional
polypropylene rope. Not only are Polysteel¨ ropes far stronger, but they
weigh much less, making them easier to handle.

--dl*
====

ps: Please delete extraneous copy of msg.s from your reply posts--no need to
waste archive storage for that.

By loop knot, do you mean something like a hangman's noose? I don't want to
keep a loop as it would cause the rope to move back and forth over the limb
(the limb I'm using isn't perfectly parallel to the ground). The second
idea sounds good, I just can't really follow. It sounds like you have two
loops on the branch, the rope from which is joined somewhere below. This
would definitely be better for the tree as the load would be split. Do you
know of a link to an illustration that would help explain?

I don't live near the ocean. The only "fisherman" type rope I could get
would be ski rope. I'll check the internet and local hardware stores. The
rope nearest the tire probably needs to be as thick as possible, giving the
kids more to hang on to and causing less burn.

Jack

"Dan Lehman" wrote in message
om...
"Jack Rogers" wrote in message news

... . I can get the rope over the limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the
fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap
the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree.

I'm very skeptical that 1) you can wrap the rope around the limb and then
move it (the "tensionless hitch" e.g., works precisely because of such
friction) and 2) that that would in any case protect the tree (the load
would STILL be borne into the tree on one side by the swing-loaded part,
and the wrapping if anything might strangle the limb).
.:. So, I'd scrap this idea.

Simply tie a loopknot to make a noose for the limb; OR, make an eye
splice.
There are two directions, he make the eye long enough so that it will
extend fully around the limb and through the bight, making the attachment
to the limb a larkshead/girth hitch (and splitting the load to two parts
around the limb), or to have the knot/splice eye end before the line goes
through the bight, yielding the traditional noose. While I can conceive
of an *offset* loopknot that would ensure smooth running around the limb,
let's hope that a simple Bowline suffices.

You might want to pad the eye tip--which will be rubbed by the line going
down to the swing--with something, like a piece of garden hose. Perhaps
you will also like to have some think line connnected to the eye with
which to haul down the loop & rope?!

As for what type of rope, hmmm, if you live around some fishermans place
of business, maybe you can land some used ground or mooring line. E.g.,
here's a light by strong copolymer line called "Polysteel", used by
lobstermen
and others:

POLYSTEEL¨ Ropes are superior to manila rope and conventional
polypropylene
mono filament rope in virtually every respect. Polysteel¨ ropes are
produced
on a unique state-of the art computerized production line which monitors
all
aspects of the manufacturing process to extremely tight tolerances from
fiber extrusion to the finished rope. The result is a rope of unsurpassed
quality and consistency. Polysteel¨ ropes are manufactured from extruded
copolymer (polypropylene and polyethylene) fibers whose unique properties
result in ropes that, size for size, are almost triple the strength of
traditional high quality manila rope of twice the strength of
conventional
polypropylene rope. Not only are Polysteel¨ ropes far stronger, but they
weigh much less, making them easier to handle.

--dl*
====

ps: Please delete extraneous copy of msg.s from your reply posts--no need
to
waste archive storage for that.

I would cast the fishing line over the limb and tie it to the CENTER of the
heavier rope, haul the rope over the limb, put the two free ends through the
loop, and pull on them until the loop is snug against the limb. Then I would
secure the ends to the tire, or, if using a seat, secure them to the seat. I
would attach a wood spreader about four feet above the seat to keep the two
ropes separated. Whew, I'm tired after all that! Hope this
helps................Al

"Jack Rogers" wrote in message
...
I know this is probably a simple issue for you folks, but it is a problem
for me. We are going to put up a rope or tire swing for the kids. I have
no way of getting into the tree (I have an adult form of muscular
dystrophy,
which has caused weakness in my legs). I can get the rope over the limb
easy enough by using a fishing rod to cast over the limb, tie the fishing
line to the rope, then pulling the rope over the limb. I plan to wrap the
rope around the limb 2-3 times to protect the tree. My dilema is that I
need a knot which I can tie at ground level, that will slip upwards to the
tree limb when I pull one of the dangling ropes. I know this will be a
little tricky as the rope coiled around the limb will have to move for
this
to occur. Hopefully, all will be loose enough for this to occur.

Any help or other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Jack Rogers