# Porch Swing



## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

One of the things I miss from growing up in the deep south was the porch swing you often found on the older houses. The covered porch was a necessity way back because the houses had very little to no insulation and in the summer the temperature inside would become unbearable in the middle of the day. So everyone would head outside and sit on the porch swing or a rocking chair. The only thing I didn't like about the swings was the constant squeaking of the chain on the hooks in the ceiling so I hung mine on some pillow block style bearings instead. Totally silent. The little woman approves as the photo shows.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Very nice Charles . Great idea with the pillow blocks


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

nice job Mr. Cherryville...


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Very nice.


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## jw2170 (Jan 24, 2008)

Great result. Keeping someone happy....


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## Gene Howe (Jul 10, 2007)

Sweet swing, Chuck.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

That is really nice. I can see enjoying morning coffee or evening toddy out there while talking about the day. I'd love to see a close-up picture of the how it's mounted.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

Looks great Charles and if it passes the "wife test" then you're good to go. One addition I'd need to add is a few comfortable cushions. Seems my back and tush just don't care for direct wood contact anymore. Maybe it's the pressure pushing down..........pass the ice cream please.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

I spent a lot of my time in the summers growing up swinging on porch swings. Both sets of grandparents had porch swings and they were well used.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

DesertRatTom said:


> That is really nice. I can see enjoying morning coffee or evening toddy out there while talking about the day. I'd love to see a close-up picture of the how it's mounted.


One photo is the pillow block bearings. When I built the porch I had this in mind so I tripled the rough 2 x 6s that are the ceiling joists. There are a 6" x 1/2" lag bolt on either end of the pillow blocks and they luckily landed very close to center of each outside joist. The original idea was to run a pipe through them and attach the chains to the pipe but 3/4" pipe was too large for the 1" holes in the bearings and 1/2" will require bushings as it is too small. Yes I've gotten the expected barbs about whether it's strong enough and will they hold my weight. I may switch it to pipe in the future. Probably the distant future as I have a habit of not fixing things that are working the way they are.

Another picture shows how I mounted the chains to the seat. I cut pieces off a small steel pipe with a tubing cutter and used them to stand the chain off from the frame so the chain wouldn't wear to the finish or wood as it swings. The front bottom mounts are on the 5" lag bolts that I used to attach the front rail to the sides. 

Third picture shows how I hung it. I wanted to be able to raise and lower it easily as there is over a foot difference in height between me and my wife. I still have a little work to do adjusting the chains to get the seat to back angle right. It's a hair too low in the front right now and feels like you'll fall off if you start swing too hard. Too far back and they are hard to get out of. 

I contoured the seat and back slightly by a very easy method of just adding tapered shims under the boards rather than shaping the sides. This was much simpler and saved a lot of time and effort. It is after all just a porch swing and not fine woodworking. Heavy sanding at the joints rounded the edges for a smooth transition from one slat to the next. The front needs a pretty good slope on it to be comfortable to the back of the knees so I cut the sides on a slope there.

I'm sure there are some cushions in store for the future but that's up to my wife and mother in law as both are very accomplished seamstresses.


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## JFPNCM (Dec 13, 2009)

A great addition to any home. Well done.


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## sreilly (May 22, 2018)

Ya done gooood!


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## JOAT (Apr 9, 2010)

Nice. I've swung in one or two, but always considered the squeak part of the background noise, like crickets. Prefer rockers tho, you can shift them, to catch the breeze better.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

JOAT said:


> Nice. I've swung in one or two, but always considered the squeak part of the background noise, like crickets. Prefer rockers tho, you can shift them, to catch the breeze better.


That might be a future project. Nothing as sophisticated as Two Skies Maloof inspired chair though.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Nice job, Charles...good thinkin' planning ahead with the 2x6's...


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## OutoftheWoodwork (Oct 4, 2012)

VERY nice, Charles! I love porch swings...


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## Marco (Feb 21, 2009)

Nice job on the swing and the description of the necessity of a swing especially back in the day in the South.


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