Set up a new swing...

[LordFarkwad]

So far I've done zero thru-bolt attachments. I'm always looking for a way to hang swings that does zero damage to the tree. For a single point suspension swing I make a custom sleeve out of liquid-tight conduit, run the rope through and tie-off with plenty of room for the limb to grow. I do annual inspections of my swing installs so I can stay ahead of limb growth as needed. The outside diameter of the sleeve resists being sucked in by the expanding cambium. Placement location is key, if you position it in a tight union the tree will eat it pretty fast.
-AJ

This is something I've wondered about: if a swing is anchored with a cinching knot of some kind, will the limb/trunk still be able to grow underneath and the cinch simply expand to accommodate the increased diameter without causing damage?

 

[moss]

Aha, that's an old vid, the short rope and carabiner was on my first swing board. The idea was to use it as a hold for an "MRS" pullback. I took that off very quickly after the pull rope hockled/twisted around itself on a pull-back release, jammed, and sent me flying like a flag waving in a stiff breeze. I was full horizontal holding onto one leg of the board lines. Whew, shaken up but no injury. My strong as a bull buddy pulling did not "let it run". It sucks being the piece of wood in that situation ;-)
-AJ

 

[moss]

This is something I've wondered about: if a swing is anchored with a cinching knot of some kind, will the limb/trunk still be able to grow underneath and the cinch simply expand to accommodate the increased diameter without causing damage?

No, the cinch will not expand, the cambium will grow around it, eventually the limb will girdle itself on the cinched line.

Edit: I suppose you could configure it somehow (with a pulley in the mix?) but you'd still want some kind of a widening sleeve, typical rope diameters are like dental floss to a tree.
-AJ

 

[TREEfool]

Hey moss, fantastic vid. I love the chill fun. I gotta make one of these for my boys and the neighbor hood kids.

But I have a question for you, do you have any long-term anchor points made of webbing? I fear that leaving the webbing in the tree will degrade it via UV light and injury someone some day. Granted, at these heights it isn't a big concern but for bigger swings it could really hurt someone. Thoughts?

 

[Reach]

Hey moss, fantastic vid. I love the chill fun. I gotta make one of these for my boys and the neighbor hood kids.

But I have a question for you, do you have any long-term anchor points made of webbing? I fear that leaving the webbing in the tree will degrade it via UV light and injury someone some day. Granted, at these heights it isn't a big concern but for bigger swings it could really hurt someone. Thoughts?

I am not Moss, but I’ll give an opinion as I have done things vaguely similar and still maintain them.

I will do an annual or semi-annual inspection of the hardware (especially anything non-metallic!) and replace anything looking degraded. If the strength loss is great enough that it is likely to break, it will certainly look like it’s been aged.

If it’s hard to inspect, or I think no one will inspect it, I might install a safety cable (a loose loop of steel cable that holds no weight except in the case of a failure of the primary). I like to do that with zipline cables too, due to their normal operating tension.

 

[moss]

Hey moss, fantastic vid. I love the chill fun. I gotta make one of these for my boys and the neighbor hood kids.

But I have a question for you, do you have any long-term anchor points made of webbing? I fear that leaving the webbing in the tree will degrade it via UV light and injury someone some day. Granted, at these heights it isn't a big concern but for bigger swings it could really hurt someone. Thoughts?

Regular tubular nylon webbing is highly susceptible to UV damage. For short-term setups fine, for long-term setups no.

For any swing stuff breaking is serious business, doesn’t matter how high, low, long or short the swing is. People install and ride on incredibly sketchy swings, especially on riverbanks and pond edges. I’ve cut a couple down, might save someone from being paralyzed.
-AJ