Do-It-Yourself Porch Swing

(Page 4 of 4)

August/September 2008
By Steve Maxwell 
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If you want to hide all screw heads under tapered wooden plugs, do that at this point.

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As for finishing the wood, there are several good options and a few bad ones. Exterior grade penetrating oil offers one excellent approach. It’s easy to apply and never peels. Simply reapply oil whenever the wood begins to look dry. You could also leave the wood to weather naturally. You’d be wise to avoid any finish that forms a surface film. These invariably peel in time, and it would be difficult to scrape and strip the failing finish from the nooks and crannies in this swing and stand.

If the stand will be in one place for a season or more, you can easily train a vine to use it as a trellis. The additional shade (and possibly the fragrance of flowers) will make your time of relaxation all the more enjoyable.

One more important thing: Suspend the swing from chains with three-sixteenth-inch-diameter eyebolts. Now it’s time to settle in and swing!

A Special Touch

It’s amazing how much nicer projects look when you take the time and effort to hide screw heads beneath tapered wooden plugs that you cut yourself. The best approach begins by drilling a half-inch-diameter hole that’s a half-inch deep. Drive the screws into these holes as you’re working. Keep in mind that you need to use slightly shorter screws with this method or the tips of the screws will punch out the other side of the wood.

Use a tapered plug cutter in a drill press to produce wooden plugs from project scraps. Pry the plugs out with a screwdriver or small chisel. Apply a tiny bit of glue to the plugs as you tap them into place. You’ll get the best results if you orient the wood grain of the plugs so it’s parallel to the surrounding grain. Later, when the glue has dried, sand the plugs flush and the piece will be ready for finishing.

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Comments

  • Nicol Gilbert 4/9/2009 7:36:47 AM

    I like this article, but I wish that it had a list of everything that you would need to build the swing. So when you go to build it you know that you have everything that is needed for it...

  • Ian 1/26/2009 9:49:55 AM

    After reading the article, and now reading some of the comments, I think if you read the bill of materials that are required,and match them to the pieces on the drawing you will find all the information you will need to build this thing.

  • Ed Stodghill 9/2/2008 8:28:22 AM

    It would be nice to have dimensioned drawings....

  • Ed Stodghill 9/2/2008 8:27:06 AM

    I have been getting email newsletters at this email address for a while, but your system tells me when I ask for a password reset that my user is not known....

  • ShadowHawk 8/27/2008 12:35:15 PM

    The acrobat (.pdf) templates are sized at 30" x 30" - so it's unlikely that someone can print them out on most home-printers.

    If you know someone at a sign shop or architectural firm that uses plotters or vinyl cutters, the plans can be printed to a roll of paper for full-sized layout prints.

  • Arlene 8/16/2008 2:56:02 PM

    I also am having printing out the complete drawings. I can only get one page. How do you get the entire set of pages? Thank you for any help.

  • Kathy 8/5/2008 3:57:59 PM

    I'm trying to download the full-size templates for the porch swing and all I get is a portion of the center pieces. The page shows all 4 pieces, but when I go to print them, I can't get all of them. What is the trick that I am missing?
    Thanks for your help!
    Kathy

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