Woodworker's Journal fall-2009, страница 64
Outdoor Swing & Arbor Made of lumberyard cedar, this piece is as sturdy as it is comfortable. Mortise-and-tenon joinery adds stability and style to this fun-to-make backyard project. By Jim Piaszynski What could be more relaxing than to while away the summer hours on a cozy porch swing? If you don't have a porch, don't despair; you can build a swing that hangs from its own freestanding arbor and make it the centerpiece of your patio or yard. I built my first patio swing for my mother-in-law, and my wife's sister liked it so much, I ended up building another one. Now, you guessed it ... my wife wants one! I made this swing of Western red cedar, an attractive and widely available wood that holds up well in the elements. I avoided the cheaper alternative — pressure-treated lumber — because of aesthetics and concerns about the toxic chemicals they use to preserve it. The swing is very sturdy and gives you a sense of timber framing when you build it. Making mortise-and-tenon joints in 4 x 4 stock is really fun and great practice. The finished product is a showpiece that is comfortable to sit in. The overhanging roof beams lend visual balance to the design and offer a perfect place to hang flower baskets and such. This project is large but easy to build, consisting almost entirely of simple mortise-and-tenon joints (see the Drawings, pages 66 through 68) held together with boatbuilder's epoxy and polyurethane adhesives. The only metal fasteners are the deck screws that secure the canopy boards and the side cross braces to the arbor. My total investment for materials was close to $500, including finishing supplies and hanging hardware. Figure 1: Drill out your mortises with a I'/s" Forstner bit, using a fence to keep the holes aligned in the center of the piece. Figure 2: Square up the mortises with a sharp chisel. The sides of the drilled holes serve as a visual guide. Figure 3: Cut the tenons to thickness with a stacked dado blade, working from both sides of the workpiece to keep the tenon centered. 64 Outdoor Swing & Arbor |
