Building a Rope bridge

[Scratch]

Not talking about a rope bridge on a tree climbing saddle but an actual bridge made of rope in my backyard. Actually made of steel cable, rope and 1" thick Trex decking boards.

I'm using 3 lengths of 3/8" steel cable spaced 12" apart and anchored to a big tree on one end, and 48" deep cement/rebar anchors on the other end. The Trex planks are cut to 30"long and I'm looking for ideas on how to attach the cables to the underside of the planks.

Right now, my idea is to use 8x1" zinc plated screws, and screw down a piece of galvanized hanger strap to sandwich the cable to the plank. It really holds onto the cable well but I'm concerned that the strap will wear through eventually. Any other ideas?

 

[Tom Dunlap]

The bridge I built to go between two treehouse platforms used 5/4 treated decking. I routed two dados matching the cable diameter.

Then flashing strips were cut to and screwed in to capture the cable.

Hex drive screws are much easier to drive than Phillips

 

[Chaplain242]

Not talking about a rope bridge on a tree climbing saddle but an actual bridge made of rope in my backyard. Actually made of steel cable, rope and 1" thick Trex decking boards.

I'm using 3 lengths of 3/8" steel cable spaced 12" apart and anchored to a big tree on one end, and 48" deep cement/rebar anchors on the other end. The Trex planks are cut to 30"long and I'm looking for ideas on how to attach the cables to the underside of the planks.

Right now, my idea is to use 8x1" zinc plated screws, and screw down a piece of galvanized hanger strap to sandwich the cable to the plank. It really holds onto the cable well but I'm concerned that the strap will wear through eventually. Any other ideas?

View attachment 59849

Not sure on cost where you are, but may be able to get electrical cable saddles to suit that diameter. They are stainless and have a split plastic guide. They would last a long time and would be a fast install.