Tennessee Jed here, standing in for Mtn. Girl as she seeks paperwork in another city to brighten her future.
A couple-three years ago I drew up a plan to use a 36 inch tractor tire that was discarded on my (and mostly the banks) property. I did not want to haul it off and then have to pay ten dollars to have someone dispose of it in a proper manner. I kept looking at it for the useful object it was, a nice round shape, very solid and very heavy. I drew this image with a no.2 pencil and went to work.I remember a quote that went something like: All people want is love, if they can't get love, they want hope, if hope is slght, then give them something to work on.
This project worried me some for the safety of the children since the tire itself was over a hundred pounds and in full swing I guessed it would triple that without any humans on it. I studied the project for flaws and failure possibilities. The first thing to go was the yoke idea, if that fell on the skulls of my little people...my GOD!
I used 4 lengths of #12 1/2"tripple braided nylon rope each having a working load of 525 lbs. and a 5760 pound breaking point. I attached it to a very alive 120 ft. sugar maple tree about 40 feet high to a 18" branch at a fork about 12 feet away from the trunk with a nylon sleeve used for wire.
The kids love it! The only real danger now is for the person pushing it. When it has four kids on it in full swing and it hits you closer than expected, it is similar to stopping a car with your hands...ouch.
Some days it is nice to to look at it empty and still while pondering peace.
