Rustic Wooden Swing Chair

This is my first Instructable, detailing how I made this rustic wooden swinging chair from some trees we cut down and some recycled webbing, fence paneling and chain.

The build was very simple and took about 15 hours in total. Construction of the frame required two people but the majority of the work was done by me.

The only tools I used were:
An axe
Chainsaw
Hammer
Handsaw
Stanley knife
Cordless screwdriver

Materials

Trees - several required
Webbing - 25mm wide around 85m
6ft feather edge boards
Bright Steel Chain 4mm x 26mm x 10m - https://www.toolstation.com/shop/p11615?table=no
Screws
6" eye bolts

Step 1: Make the Frame

(Ignore the pile of crap in the background of this shot. We tore down the old hedge and built a new fence while building the chair)

I constructed the two uprights first. I thought I had enough timber to create a pair of nice A frames for each side but they were not long enough to get the hight I needed so I ended up using the two longest which I cut using the chainsaw to the same length with flat ends. I then used some 4 inch wood screws to attach four the support legs which were, again, cut with the chain saw to all be the same length but with 45 degree angles.

Next I cut notches into the ends of the crossbeam to allow it to balance on the uprights. This was the only point in the build I needed a second pair of (strong) hands as this log was very heavy, although when I was positioned on top of the two uprights it balanced perfectly, which came as a nice surprise!

The two logs which hold the crossbeam to the uprights were split using the axe and screwed in position using a handful of 4 inch wood screws.

Step 2: Test for Strength

Not specifically required but it was a pretty good feeling to know how stable it was!

Step 3: Roofing

The roof was a very simple construction as it essentially self balanced. Each side is supported by a 4 ft log which was split down the center and screwed to the frame with 4 inch wood screws. The roof is made out of some leftover 6 ft feather edge fencing boards.

Before I finished the roof I drilled two holes to hang the chair from.

I used two 6 inch M12 eye bolts with some big washers to hang the chair.

Step 4: The Chair

The chair frame was made from some 4"x2" planks which I screwed together at a jaunty angle and cut a curve in for the natural seat shape. I kind of messed this part up because I originally planned to make the entire chair out of timber (until i found out how much that would cost! Timber is expensive!) I didn't consider how much tension this would be under so if I made it again I would probably use something more robust for the supports. The webbing was an afterthought as my friend has some leftover from a previous project. I used around 80 meters in total. Although it looks relatively time consuming it only took around 3 hours. I stretched the webbing out across the lengths as I figured this would maintain the shape of the chair then weaved in the other direction. I cut the webbing using a stanley knife and sealed it using a candle flame to stop it fraying. The webbing is held in place with some small wood screws I had lying around.

The chair is held up using some chain I got from tool station and some maillons from ebay.

Step 5: Finished Chair

The finished swing chair cost around £30 including fixings.