How to Build a Seesaw

If you remember spending days of your youth on swing sets, monkey bars and slides, you know that no playground is complete without a seesaw. Most kids love to play seesaws. You can build a seesaw with a few simple materials and a few free hours. After you build your seesaw, get the kids, hop on and have fun.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mulch or smooth stones
• 2-by-4 inch pressure-treated board
• 2 2-by-8 inch pressure-treated boards
• 1 1/4-inch galvanized steel pipe
• 2 by 10 inch pressure-treated board, 10 feet in length
• Drill
• Rope
• Circular saw
• Jigsaw
• Sandpaper
• Weather-resistant stain

Seesaw With Window Well Fulcrum

1. Find a section of your playground that has the room for a seesaw. Make sure there are no objects in the way of the seesaw's up and down motion. Place mulch or smooth stones in the area where you want to build the seesaw.

2. Construct a fulcrum-the pivot where the seats of the seesaw rest-about 16 inches high by placing two galvanized window wells, one over the other, onto the ground. Hold down with spikes driven into the ground.

3. Use a 2-by-10 inch pressure-treated board 10 feet in length for the seats. Measure 16 inches from each end and 1 1/4 inches from the sides and drill holes. Slip rope through holes, and tie into a knot to secure. These are the handles of the seesaw.

4. Attach seats to fulcrum. Center seats on window well, mark board on either side of well, turn over and screw on wood blocks to hold seats to well.

5. Cut curves into either side of each end of the seat board with a jigsaw, if desired. Sand all edges. Apply a coat or two of weather-resistant stain. When dry, your playground is now complete.

Seesaw With Steel Pipe Fulcrum

6. Repeat Step 1 in Section 1 above.

7. Cut two 2 by 8 inch boards 35 inches in length, cut notches into the ends above ground and set 19 inches into the ground with a post-hole digger.

8. Secure with cement. Use a galvanized pipe set into the notches as a pivot, held on with pipe straps.

9. Repeat Step 4 in Section 1 above.

10. Screw a 2 by 4 inch brace board to the underside of the seat board. Then cut a notch in the center of the brace board 1 1/4 inches deep and 1 1/4 inches wide to place on the pivot bar.

11. Finish as described in Step 6 in Section 1 above.