The Tire Swing

Ever tried to build a Tire swing lately? The Tire swing used to be as much a southern staple as pick up truck or a dog under the porch but the relaxing simple fun that the vision of a tire swing calls to mind is quickly shattered when you try to build one today.

First just get a Tire, right? No problem. Well you go to a tire store and if you're lucky they won't charge you for the tire or make you sign any paperwork stating that you are not going to burn the tire, add the tire to a landfill, roll the tire down the interstate, etc.

After I got my tire home (and my hands and shirt are black from the tire dust) I thought it would be a good idea to make some holes in what would be the bottom (to let rain drain out), what I quickly realized is that tires today are almost all Steel Belted - several drill bits later I "almost" had holes and thought that was good enough.

The only other component of a Tire Swing is the Rope. Again, easy to locate right? Wrong. Go to Lowe's and guess what, there are no ropes marked "Tire Swing Rope". :-) Well, still all you need is a thick cotton Rope... not here. All the ropes are polypro.... something - which means as they age they will develop splinters larger than a 10 yr old rosebush. So after driving all over I finally found my cotton rope (special order you know) so it wasn't cheap.

So I whip out my trusty knife and cut the lengths of rope that I "think" will be long enough". After tapping into the "knot tying" side of my brain that had lay dormant since my years in the Marine Corps I ended up getting the Tire tied and hung in the tree. And just think, gathering all the materials and getting that relaxing Tire Swing in the tree only took four days to accomplish.

Now for that dog under the porch.......

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