AN EASY CLIMBING SET
Making monkey bars from tree trimming leftovers.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON
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by Jim Deacove
Whenever we go to the city and have a picnic in a park, our children head
straight for the sets of metal climbing bars. This year,
for a birthday surprise, I priced a basic set of bars made
by a local welder. He told me that it would cost over $100,
and that a particularly good set would run me well over
$200. If you add to this the cost of transporting one of
those heavy things from town to our farm, you can
understand why metal climbing bars were way out of our
price range.
Then, one afternoon, while pruning the orchard and having
to remove two large limbs that broke off an old crab-apple
tree, I thought of making my own climbing set. The children
definitely needed something to exercise their muscles on,
and what would be more natural than a climbing set made out
of trees? Most of the trees that were still alive and
growing were too large for the children, but if I could put
together portions of smaller trees, it might be just right.
It was.
I sawed the largest limb into two pieces. I was then able
to hitch a chain to all the big pieces and pull them easily
with our half-ton truck. I sawed off the weak and broken
branches, making sure there were no jagged edges. Then I
tried different combinations of intertwining limbs and
branches until I was satisfied that the whole thing was
stable, pleasing to the eye, and offered an adventure in
climbing.
You need to work with at least three pieces —
connecting the mostly large branches works best. I just
nailed the whole thing together. (I was going to bolt it
all, but I found that a few well-laced 3" common nails were
just as good.)
Visitors first think we have a wood sculpture in the yard;
then they see the children climbing all over it!
